V 


■JOFPUMJ^ 


APR  17  1918 


BV    1475     .S6 

Sneath,  Elias  Hershey,  185 

1935. 
Religious  training  in  the 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  IN  THE 
SCHOOL  AND  HOME 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  •   BOSTON  •   CHICAGO  •   DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •   SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

IN   THE 

SCHOOL  AND  HOME 

A  MANUAL  FOR  TEACHERS 
AND  PARENTS 

APR  17  1918 


•• 


BY 

E.  HERSHEY  SNEATH 

Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF  THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF    RELIGION    AND 
RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION,    YALE    UNIVERSITY 

GEORGE  HODGES 

D.D.,  D.C.L. 

DEAN   OF   THE    EPISCOPAL   THEOLOGICAL   SCHOOL,   CAMBRIDGE 

HENRY  HALLAM  TWEEDY 

M.A. 

PROFESSOR   OF   PRACTICAL   THEOLOGY,   YALE    UNIVERSITY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1917 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1917, 
By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published,    September.   1917. 


PREFACE 

The  aim  of  this  book  is  to  supply  teachers  and 
parents  with  a  handbook  for  moral  and  religious 
training  in  the  school  and  home.  It  has  been  written 
in  connection  with  the  preparation  of  The  Golden 
Rule  Series  —  six  books  embodying  a  graded  system 
of  moral  instruction  (Sneath,  Hodges  and  Stevens), 
and  The  King's  Highway  Series  —  eight  books  em- 
bodying a  graded  system  of  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction (Sneath,  Hodges  and  Tweedy).  This 
Manual  is  based  on  a  similar  one  —  Moral  Train- 
ing in  the  School  and  Home  (Sneath  and  Hodges). 
However,  six  new  chapters  have  been  added,  certain 
portions  omitted,  and  the  remaining  material  revised, 
readjusted,  and  thoroughly  adapted  to  religious  in- 
struction. The  book  may  be  used  either  independ- 
ently of,  or  in  connection  with,  The  King's  Highway 
Series.  The  authors  earnestly  hope  that  the  Manual 
may  be  of  genuine  service  to  teachers  and  parents. 

E.  Hershey  Sneath. 

George  Hodges. 

Henry  Hallam  Tweedy. 


CHAPTER 
I 


II 
III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 

XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Importance  of  Religious  Training  in  the 
Home  and  School l 

Importance  of  Religious  Training  in  the 
Home  and  School  (Continued)    .      .      .15 

Aim  and  Method  of  Religious  Training    35 
Aim  and  Method  of  Religious  Training 

(Continued) 57 

The  Bodily  Life 71 

The  Bodily  Life   (Continued)    ....     93 

The  Intellectual  Life H5 

The  Social  Life  — The  Family   .     .     .131 
The  Social  Life  — The  Family  (Contin- 
ued)      *53 

The  Social  Life  — The  School   .      .      .171 
The  Social  Life  — The  School  (Contin- 
ued)      l89 

The  Social  Life  — The  Community      .  207 
The  Social  Life  —  Relations  to  Animals  227 

The  Economic  Life        239 

The  Political  Life 255 

The  Esthetic  Life 273 

EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES 295 

Bibliography 3X3 


The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom; 
A  good  understanding  have  all  they  that  do  his  command- 
ments. 

—  Psalm  cxi,  10. 

My  son,  if  thou  wilt  receive  my  words, 
And  lay  up  my  commandments  with  thee; 
So  as  to  incline  thine  ear  unto  wisdom, 
And  apply  thy  heart  to  understanding; 

Then  shalt  thou  understand  the  fear  of  Jehovah, 

And  find  the  knowledge  of  God. 

For  Jehovah  giveth  wisdom; 

Out  of  his  mouth  cometh  knowledge   and  understanding: 

He  layeth  up  sound  wisdom  for  the  upright; 

He  is  a  shield  to  them  that  walk  in  integrity; 

That  he  may  guard  the  paths  of  justice, 

And  preserve  the  way  of  his  saints. 

Then   shalt   thou    understand   righteousness   and   justice, 

And  equity,  yea,  every  good  path. 

—  Proverbs   ii,    1-2,    5-9. 

And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  should  know  thee  the  only 
true  God,  and  him  whom  thou  didst  send,  even  Jesus 
Christ. 

—  John  xvii,  3. 

Till  we  all  attain  unto  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  full-grown  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ. 

—  Ephesians  iv,  13. 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

CHAPTER  I 

IMPORTANCE   OF   RELIGIOUS   TRAINING   IN   THE 
HOME   AND    SCHOOL 

A  precursor  of  George  Bernard  Shaw  once  de- 
fined a  commonplace  as  something  which  everybody 
knew  but  which  nobody  practiced.  Such  an  ironical 
statement  is  perilously  like  a  truth  which  deserves  to 
be  arrested  for  splurging  around  in  the  garments  of 
mendacity.  But  it  at  least  attracts  our  attention  — 
stabs  us  wide  awake,  in  the  phrase  of  Stevenson 
—  and  stimulates  us  to  re-state  and  evaluate  the 
experience. 

Such  a  commonplace  is  the  indubitable  fact  that  in 
morals  and  religion  we  touch  humanity's  supreme 
values.  Everybody  knows  this,  agnostic  and  sensu- 
alist as  well  as  ethical  culturist  and  devout  Christian; 
but  as  for  the  practice  of  the  principles  involved, 
that  seems  to  be  the  self-appointed  task,  if  not  of 
nobody,  at  least  of  the  select  few.  [The  wise  student 
of  history  and  of  life  recognises  that  upon  these 
depend  ultimately  the  health  and  happiness  of  the 
individual  and  of  society.  Our  Puritan  fathers 
brought  out  the  full  spectrum  of  the  truth  by  passing 


2  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

it  through  the  old  homiletical  prism  whose  facets 
were  labeled  "  body,  mind  and  spirit,"  showing  the 
effect  that  morals  and  religion  have  upon  each  of 
these.  Immorality  and  irreligion  are  the  greatest 
of  cheats  and  robbers.  They  wreck  the  body,  ruin 
the  mind,  and  rob  the  spirit.  They  wheedle  men  and 
nations  out  of  their  divine  birthright  and  filch  from 
them  their  dearest  and  most  precious  possessions. 
A  man  who  juggles  with  right  and  wrong  pays  as 
certain  a  penalty  as  his  fellow  who  violates  the  laws 
of  health.  He  may  be  as  unconscious  of  this  for  a 
time  as  the  eater  of  arsenic;  but  if  he  follows  vice 
as  persistently  and  enthusiastically  as  the  great  and 
the  good  have  followed  virtue,  the  universe  is  so 
constructed  that  it  summarily  denies  him  the  right 
to  live.  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  As  for 
religion,  the  man  who  allows  this  to  atrophy  in  his 
nature  —  for  the  capacity  was  originally  there, — 
takes  his  place  voluntarily  with  earth's  spiritual 
paupers  and  cripples.  That  "  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
is  love,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  goodness,  faithful- 
ness, meekness,  self-control  "  is  the  testimony  of  the 
past  and  the  experience  of  the  present.  To  neglect 
religion  is  to  lose  the  "  life  that  is  life  indeed." 

And  what  is  true  of  the  individual  is  true  of  na- 
tions. The  prosperity  and  happiness  of  a  people 
depend  not  only  upon  its  material  wealth  but  upon 
the  moral  and  religious  principles  involved  in  the 
creation  and  distribution  of  that  wealth.  Japan, 
with  its  low  standard  of  popular  morality,  has  been 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING  3 

described  as  a  nation  in  search  of  a  religion.  Three 
striking  testimonies  in  regard  to  the  greatest  national 
need  were  given  within  recent  years.  Count  Okuma, 
the  Premier  as  well  as  the  founder  and  head  of  the 
liberal  party,  said  at  the  dedication  of  a  Chinese 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  dormitory:  "  The  fatal  defect  in  the 
teaching  of  the  great  sages  of  Japan  and  China  is 
that,  while  they  deal  with  virtue  and  morals,  they 
do  not  sufficiently  dwell  on  the  spiritual  nature  of 
man;  and  any  nation  that  neglects  the  spiritual, 
though  it  may  flourish  for  a  time,  must  eventually 
decay.  The  origin  of  modern  civilisation  is  to  be 
found  in  the  teachings  of  the  sage  of  Judea,  by  whom 
alone  the  necessary  moral  dynamic  is  supplied." 
Another  distinguished  statesman,  the  Honourable  S. 
Ebara,  when  Chairman  of  the  House  Committee,  de- 
clared in  a  recent  address:  "  The  greatest  need  of 
Japan  is  said  to  be  economic  development;  but  the 
basis  of  economic  development  is  confidence,  and  con- 
fidence will  only  come  as  the  fruit  of  moral  and  re- 
ligious education,  based  upon  Christianity.  Our 
need  is  Christian  character,  based  on  Christian  edu- 
cation." A  statement  in  a  letter  from  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Kobe  read  at 
the  dedication  of  the  new  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  in 
that  city  is  also  worth  recording.  "  Religion,"  he 
writes,  "  is  the  life  of  our  country.  Without  re- 
ligious education  strong  men  will  not  grow  up,  inter- 
national peace  will  not  be  possible,  and  pure,  honest 
government    will    not    exist."     These    are    strong 


4  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

words;  but  the  testimony  can  be  paralleled  in  the  ex- 
perience of  social  and  political  leaders  in  every  land. 
A  second  commonplace  is  that  all  progress  in 
morals  and  religion  depends  chiefly  upon  the  train- 
ing of  the  children.  Here  again  many  proclaim  the 
truth,  and  multitudes  nod  their  heads  in  drowsy 
orthodoxy  under  the  preaching.  Yet  the  plain  fact 
is  that  it  is  just  along  these  lines  that  the  popular 
education  is  most  deficient.  Only  in  comparatively 
recent  times  have  our  educational  forces  begun  to 
grapple  with  the  problems  rising  out  of  the  moral 
and  religious  development  of  the  child.  All  knew 
that  to  find  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world  we  need 
go  no  farther  than  the  nursery  and  the  schoolroom. 
President  G.  Stanley  Hall  confesses  that  to  him  there 
is  but  one  thing  more  awful  than  Kant's  starry 
heavens  —  the  body  and  soul  of  a  child.  We  recog- 
nise that  moral  and  religious  direction  is  specially  de- 
termined in  childhood.  That  is  the  period  of  great- 
est plasticity  when  the  deepest  and  most  lasting  im- 
pressions can  be  made.  The  possibilities  of  the  fu- 
ture are  being  ripened  or  blasted.  We  are  growing 
tall,  straight  New  England  pines  or  gnarled  Japa- 
nese dwarfs,  normal  specimens  of  beauty  or  hideous 
freaks.  It  is,  moreover,  the  great  habit-forming 
period.  The  time  to  fight  the  battle  of  adolescence 
is  not  in  the  teens  only.-  The  critical  period  was 
long  ago  in  childhood;  and  when  most  parents  and 
teachers  face  the  struggle,  the  battle  has  already 
been  lost  or  won.     A  Jewish  father  once  brought 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING  5 

his  boy  to  a  Christian  school  in  lower  New  York, 
because  he  could  there  obtain  better  training.  "  Are 
you  not  afraid  that  your  boy  will  become  a  Chris- 
tian? "  asked  the  teacher.  "  Not  at  all,"  replied  the 
father.  "  I  have  had  that  boy  for  ten  years.  Now 
see  what  you  can  do !  "  The  Jesuits  have  learned 
the  same  truth  and  practise  it  enthusiastically.  Yet 
in  the  light  of  these  indubitable  facts  how  lament- 
ably inadequate  is  the  moral  and  religious  training 
given  in  most  homes  and  schools!  Sometimes  it  is 
entirely  neglected;  sometimes  it  is  ignorantly 
bungled;  and  sometimes  in  our  so-called  best  families 
the  training  all  unconsciously  given  is  the  weakest 
and  the  worst. 

The  pity  of  it  is  that  in  all  such  training  the  normal 
child  is  by  his  very  nature  on  our  side.  If  there  is 
a  grain  of  truth  in  the  old  doctrine  of  inherited  sin, 
there  is  more  truth  than  Wordsworth  intended  in  his 
"  Ode  to  Immortality."  For  heaven  does  lie  about 
us  in  our  infancy.  The  child  recognises  and  instinct- 
ively admires  the  beauty  of  goodness.  In  normal 
instances  that  admiration  dominates  his  manhood. 
Mephistopheles  could  not  induce  Faust  to  admit  that 
evil  was  good,  and  it  was  upon  this  fact  partly  that 
his  ultimate  redemption  rested.  A  boy  may  be 
taught  to  lie  and  to  steal  and  to  feel  that  these  are 
clever;  but  it  would  be  a  difficult  task  to  make  him  be- 
lieve that  this  course  of  action  is  better  than  that 
which  is  characterised  by  truth  and  honesty,  when  he 
has  once  visioned  the  latter  and  experienced  the  re- 


6  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

suits  of  both.  The  child,  moreover,  as  Professor 
Ladd  and  other  students  affirm,  "  is  naturally  and 
normally,  in  manifold  and  subtle  ways,  not  only  ca- 
pable of  being  religious  but  bound  to  be  religious." 
He  trusts,  worships,  confesses,  believeth  all  things, 
hopeth  all  things,  and  fortunately  manages  often  to 
thrive  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  irreligious  or  non- 
religious  parents  and  teachers  cause  him  to  suffer  as 
one  that  endureth  all  things.  In  brief,  human  na- 
ture itself  contains  <f  a  holy  principle,"  as  Bushnell 
saw  clearly.  It  is  on  the  side  of  him  who  would  de- 
velop the  moral  and  religious  nature  along  right 
lines.  Our  boys  and  girls  were  created  for  goodness 
and  for  God,  and  their  hearts  are  restless  until  they 
rest  in  both. 

Granting  the  truth  of  these  two  fundamental  com- 
monplaces—  that  in  morals  and  religion  we  are 
dealing  with  humanity's  supreme  and  most  intensely 
practical  values,  and  that  the  child  ought  to  and  may 
easily  be  educated  along  these  lines  —  the  next  fact 
that  confronts  us  is  that  the  transcendent  opportuni- 
ties for  such  training  are  to  be  found  in  the  home  and 
in  the  school.  In  these  two  institutions  the  child  ex- 
periences his  first  interactions  with  society.  In  par- 
ents and  teachers  he  sees  his  guides  and  guardians, 
even  his  ideals  and  his  gods.  In  a  very  large  meas- 
ure, then,  it  is  true  that  the  so-called  "  boy-problem  " 
is  a  "  parent  and  teacher  problem."  If  we  can 
have  moral  and  religious  homes  and  schools,  the 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING  7 

most  difficult  stage  in  the  solution  will  have  been 
passed. 

Hitherto  most  people  have  been  content  to  hand 
over  the  moral  and  religious  education  of  their  chil- 
dren mainly  to  the  Church  and  Sunday  School, 
and  every  wise  educator  counts  upon  the  co-operation 
of  these  institutions  to-day.  He  who  deliberately 
omits  them  from  the  week's  programme  does  so  at 
his  own  and  his  children's  peril.  The  warning  rests 
not  upon  the  exhortations  of  prejudiced  and  super- 
stitious priests,  but  upon  the  testimony  of  experi- 
ence. To  cut  a  child  off  from  the  communal  worship 
of  the  Church  and  Sunday  School  is  to  do  violence  to 
the  laws  of  psychology  and  of  evolution.  And  yet 
without  the  co-operation  of  the  still  stronger  and 
more  abiding  influences  of  the  home  and  day  school, 
both  Church  and  Sunday  School  in  the  battle  for  in- 
dividual and  social  salvation  are  broken  lances  in  the 
fray. 

The  strength  and  weakness  of  these  institutions 
for  the  great  task  are  apparent.  Look  at  the 
Church  for  a  moment.  Here  the  very  building  is  a 
helpful  factor  in  the  moral  and  religious  develop- 
ment of  the  child  —  or  ought  to  be !  The  dignity 
and  beauty  of  the  architecture,  the  loftiness  and 
spaciousness  of  the  walls,  the  suggestions  of  pulpit 
and  communion  table,  of  font  and  altar,  all  beget  a 
sense  of  solemnity  and  of  awe,  of  wonderment  and 
of  hushed  expectancy  that  awakens   and  develops 


8  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  moral  obedience  and  the  intelligent  worship  that 
are  to  be.  The  pity  is  that  so  many  church  archi- 
tects in  an  attempt  to  serve  what  they  regard  as  the 
practical  crucify  the  ideal.  As  a  result  all  too  many 
congregations  are  attempting  to  worship  in  structures 
that  are  eminently  fitted  to  make  worship  impossible, 
and  in  which  either  tawdriness  or  barren  ugliness,  the 
atmosphere  of  concert  hall  or  theatre,  do  more  harm 
than  good  in  the  religious  awakening  of  the  child. 

As  for  the  church  service  every  part  may  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  thoughts  and  emotions  of 
the  children.  From  the  worship  as  from  the  ser- 
mon, be  it  confessed  to  many  a  minister's  regret  if 
not  to  his  shame,  the  children  of  the  parish  gain  very 
little.  The  hymns,  often  hectic  and  unreal  to  the 
boy  as  well  as  to  his  father,  are  announced  perfunc- 
torily and  sung  thoughtlessly.  The  words  of  the  an- 
them are  inaudible  or  unintelligible,  while  the  long 
prayer  is  a  tax  on  the  patience  or  an  opportunity  for 
sleep.  In  the  majority  of  services  there  is  no  talk 
to  the  children,  and  little  in  the  main  discourse  that 
is  addressed  to  them.  Even  when  there  is,  the 
speaker  often  fails  to  couch  it  in  the  simple,  vivid, 
concrete,  imaginative  language  that  will  reach  and 
captivate  those  wandering  minds. 

Yet  in  the  poorest  service  the  child  gets  some- 
thing. His  spirit  is  bathed  in  the  awe  and  silenced 
in  the  hush.  He  visions  the  great  and  the  good  — 
or  at  least  those  whom  he  believes  to  be  the  great 
and  the  good  —  bowed  in  penitence,  standing  jubi- 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING  9 

lant  in  praise,  instructed  in  the  will  of  a  Being  infi- 
nitely above  him  in  wisdom  and  in  goodness  and  in 
love.  All  this  is  educative.  Where  the  minister  has 
trained  himself  for  this  important  part  of  his  task, 
and  is  awake  to  the  little  faces  that  look  up  into  his 
own,  the  hour  becomes  a  memorable  one.  Many  a 
restless  and  apparently  thoughtless  member  of  the 
junior  congregation  grows  up  to  testify  to  the  power 
which  was  exerted  over  him  by  hymn  and  sermon, 
little  as  these  seemed  to  do  for  him  at  the  time. 

The  co-operation  of  the  parents  will  certainly  mean 
much,  and  may  mean  almost  everything.  To  pre- 
pare the  child  for  church,  making  ready  his  soul  as 
well  as  dressing  his  body;  possibly,  where  the  cal- 
endar is  printed,  to  come  early  enough  to  read  the 
hymns  and  the  Scripture  Lesson  and  to  get  into 
tune  with  the  spirit  of  the  hour;  on  the  way  home 
to  tell  him  stories  of  the  great  hymn-writers  and 
composers,  and  to  discuss  the  principles  treated  in 
the  sermon  until  the  full  meaning  and  application  are 
made  plain  —  all  this  will  do  much  toward  making 
the  most  ordinary  service  interesting  and  helpful, 
and  will  develop  a  love  for  the  Church  and  an  ap- 
preciation of  its  value  in  the  life  of  the  child. 

But  even  with  the  best  of  services  and  the  most 
hearty  co-operation  on  Sunday  morning,  the  Church 
can  do  little  without  the  daily  training  of  the  home 
and  school.  Only  a  small  minority  of  the  children 
in  our  land,  few  even  of  those  who  come  from  nomi- 
nally Christian  homes,  attend  its  services  with  any 


io  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

degree  of  regularity.  Multitudes  of  boys  and  girls 
never  go  to  church  at  all.  At  most  the  time  allotted 
is  but  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the  course  of  the  week; 
and  all  too  often,  with  little  inspiration  from  the 
preacher  and  none  from  the  parents,  this  becomes  a 
barren  wilderness  or  an  inexplicable  hardship  to  be 
stoically  endured.  When,  moreover,  during  the 
other  one  hundred  sixty-six  and  one-half  hours  of  the 
week  the  child  never  hears  the  name  of  God  men- 
tioned, never  is  brought  into  touch  with  the  life  of 
the  Bible,  never  is  made  to  feel  that  the  moral  and 
religious  instruction  of  the  church  applies  directly  to 
his  work  and  play  and  all  the  fascinating  interests  of 
his  life,  it  is  little  wonder  if  the  Church  becomes  to 
him  a  negligible  quantity  and  religion  as  unreal  as 
the  fairy  tales  which  he  no  longer  believes. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  Sunday  School,  not  only 
in  the  most  incompetent  of  the  old-fashioned  type  but 
in  the  most  thoroughly  organised  and  best  equipped 
of  the  modern  sort.  Even  the  old-fashioned  schools 
did  more  than  their  severest  critics  are  willing  to  ad- 
mit, and  hosts  of  restless,  wriggling  little  victims  and 
martyrs  testify  in  manhood  and  womanhood  to  the 
power  which  the  despised  Sunday  School  exerted  over 
their  lives.  As  for  the  modern  school  with  its 
trained  teachers,  graded  lessons,  well-conducted  wor- 
ship and  extra-curriculum  activities,  its  virtues  do  not 
need  to  be  catalogued.  These  are  written  large  in 
literature  as  well  as  in  life. 

But  the  same  inadequacy  which  limits  the  work  of 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING  n 

the  Church  is  apparent  here.  Only  a  fraction  of  our 
children  are  in  Sunday  School.  Many  belonging  to 
nominally  Christian  homes  are  not  enrolled.  The 
lack  of  time,  only  one  hour,  is  again  evident.  The 
service  of  worship  in  many  cases  is  all  too  truth- 
fully characterised  as  "  the  opening  exercises,"  for 
which  there  has  been  so  little  careful  study  and 
preparation,  and  of  which  there  is  so  little  meaning- 
ful use  and  application,  that  the  pupils  might  as 
well  have  been  reciting  the  multiplication  tables,  so 
far  as  religious  nurture  and  spiritual  impression  and 
expression  are  concerned.  The  best  of  teachers  is 
badly  handicapped  by  the  usual  noise  and  distrac- 
tions. A  poor  teacher,  who  knows  little  of  child 
psychology,  less  of  pedagogy,  and  whose  knowledge 
of  the  Bible  might  fairly  be  compared  to  a  bushel  of 
wheat  in  a  bin  of  chaff,  will  do  little  good  and  pos- 
sibly much  harm.  The  churches  are  only  slowly 
awakening  to  the  need  of  procuring  teachers  with  a 
thorough  scientific  training  not  only  in  the  Bible  but 
in  psychology,  pedagogy,  ethics  and  the  field  of  re- 
ligious knowledge.  It  is  a  sad  commentary  upon  our 
judgment  of  values  when  we  demand  so  much  of  the 
teacher  of  spelling  and  arithmetic  and  so  little  of  the 
teacher  of  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  science  of 
life.  Adequate  curricula,  carefully  graded,  are  com- 
paratively rare  even  in  our  day.  Expressional  activ- 
ity, in  which  the  principles  inculcated  may  be  prac- 
tised and  through  which  alone  the  deepest  and  most 
lasting  impressions  can  be  made,  seldom  plays  its 


12  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

proper  part.  When  in  addition  to  all  these  handi- 
caps is  added  the  moral  and  religious  short-comings 
of  most  homes,  in  which  the  lessons  of  the  school  are 
neither  studied  nor  illustrated,  the  inefficiency  of  the 
ordinary  Sunday  School  instead  of  being  a  source 
of  impotent  lamentation,  or,  as  is  so  often  the  case, 
of  humour  and  of  scoffing  jest,  is  only  what  might  nat- 
urally be  expected.  The  average  school  is  far  from 
being  its  best  self.  As  yet  it  has  hardly  a  fair 
chance.  But  granted  that  it  was  developed  to  its 
full  perfection  and  given  adequate  opportunity,  it 
would  still  be  exceedingly  difficult  by  this  means  alone 
to  lead  children  out  of  immoral  and  irreligious  homes 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Our  educators  are  awake  to  this  situation.  It  has 
called  forth  a  flood  of  volumes,  and  the  tide  of  pub- 
lication is  rising  rather  than  falling  to-day.  The 
bibliography  with  which  this  treatise  closes  will  per- 
haps astonish  the  novice;  but  the  trained  worker  will 
be  inclined  to  lengthen  rather  than  to  shorten  the  list. 
That  the  majority  of  our  churches  should  be  content 
to  plod  along  the  well-worn  pathway  of  former  gen- 
erations is  only  what  might  have  been  expected.  An 
ever-increasing  number,  however,  are  busily  blazing 
new  trails.  For  them  baptism  has  become  a  solemn 
pledge  and  covenant  on  the  part  of  the  parents  rather 
than  a  mystical  channel  of  divine  grace.  Their  Cra- 
dle Roll  is  not  a  mere  form  or  frill.  It  is  an  organ- 
ised attempt  to  enlist  in  their  work  and  to  educate 
and  inspire  the  fathers  and  mothers.     The  Home 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING  13 

Department  is  a  similar  venture,  through  which  Bible 
Study  and  the  reading  of  the  best  religious  and  peda- 
gogical literature  may  be  furthered,  until  the  teach- 
ing in  the  Sunday  School  is  supplemented  and  en- 
forced by  the  teaching  in  the  home.  Mothers'  Clubs 
have  been  extensively  used  and  found  exceedingly 
helpful.  Persistent  efforts  are  being  made  to  reach 
the  fathers,  especially  those  who  are  not  practising 
their  profession;  and  Bible  classes  and  clubs  for  men, 
the  "  Fathers'  and  Sons'  Banquet,"  together  with  per- 
sonal work  among  the  men  of  the  parish  are  accom- 
plishing good  results.  Such  churches  are  recognis- 
ing their  tasks  and  using  their  powers;  but  they  fully 
realise  that  the  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem 
is  beyond  them.  Critics  of  the  Church,  who  are  in- 
clined to  be  captious,  may  well  begin  their  task  by 
recognising  this  fact  and  honouring  what  has  been 
accomplished.  But  we  must  go  beyond  the  confines 
of  both  Church  and  Sunday  School  before  the  work 
will  be  effectively  done. 


Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom, 

And  the  man  that  getteth  understanding. 

For  the  gaining  of  it  is  better  than  the  gaining  of  silver, 

And  the  profit  thereof  than  fine  gold. 

She  is  more  precious  than  rubies: 

And  none  of  the  things  thou  canst  desire  are  to  be  compared 

unto  her. 
Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand; 
In  her  left  hand  are  riches  and  honor. 
Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 
And  all  her  paths  are  peace. 

She  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  upon  her: 
And  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her. 

—  Proverbs  iii,  13-18. 

And  there  shall  be  stability  in  thy  times,  abundance  of  sal- 
vation, wisdom,  and  knowledge:  the  fear  of  Jehovah  is 
thy  treasure. 

—  Isaiah  xxxiii,  6. 

But  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then  peace- 
able, gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good 
fruits,  without  variance,  without  hypocrisy.  And  the 
fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in  peace  for  them  that 
make  peace. 

—  James  iii,  17,  18. 


Yea,  and  for  this  very  cause  adding  on  your  part  all  dili- 
gence, in  your  faith  supply  virtue;  and  in  your,  virtue 
knowledge;  and  in  your  knowledge  self-control;  and  in 
your  self-control  patience;  and  in  your  patience  godli- 
ness; and  in  your  godliness  brotherly  kindness;  and  in 
your  brotherly  kindness  love.  For  if  these  things  are 
yours  and  abound,  they  make  you  to  be  not  idle  nor  un- 
fruitful unto  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
.  .  .  For  thus  shall  be  richly  supplied  unto  you  the  en- 
trance into  the  eternal  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ. 

—  //  Peter  i,  5-1 1. 


CHAPTER  II 

IMPORTANCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  IN  THE  HOME 

and  IN  the  school      (Continued) 

Life  is  the  greatest  of  all  universities;  and  for  a 
child  this  has  two  main  departments,  the  home  and 
the  school.  Of  these  the  home  is  the  more  impor- 
tant. It  is  from  this  that  the  boy  has  received  his 
heredity,  that  great  gift  which  may  be  either  a  bless- 
ing or  a  curse.  All  the  responsibility  which  rests 
upon  a  man  and  woman  before  marriage  and  dur- 
ing the  period  when  they  watch  for  the  coming  of  the 
little  stranger;  all  that  training  needed  to  make  a 
gentleman,  which  Holmes  said  should  begin  with  his 
great-grandfather;  all  that  preparation  for  Christian 
living  which  in  the  case  of  Timothy  had  its  source  not 
only  in  his  mother  but  in  his  mother's  mother  —  this 
by  many  is  neglected  through  ignorance  or  careless- 
ness or  the  betrayal  of  life's  greatest  trust. 

All  the  more  reason,  then,  why  the  child's  environ- 
ment in  the  home  should  have  the  parent's  most  care- 
ful study  and  co-operation.  By  this  in  all  proba- 
bility the  main  course  of  his  career  will  be  deter- 
mined. In  it  he  is  being  hourly  and  unconsciously 
shaped  and  developed  by  those  who  are  his  most  ef- 
fective teachers  and  who  ought  to  be  the  wisest  and 

15 


1 6  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

best  of  friends.  The  parental  vices,  upon  which 
Bushnell  lays  his  finger  with  the  kindly  severity  of  the 
spiritual  surgeon  —  the  provocation  of  the  child  to 
anger;  too  much  prohibition;  the  harsh,  tyrannical 
government  which  results  in  making  God  not  a 
Father  to  be  loved  but  a  tyrant  to  be  feared;  extreme 
difficulty  to  please;  the  tendency  to  hold  displeasure 
too  long;  over-anxious  concern;  tests  of  character 
inappropriate  to  age  and  temperament  —  these  and 
other  faults  must  be  rigidly  excluded.  As  for  the 
parental  virtues,  they  are  being  observed  by  the  keen- 
est of  eyes,  and  listened  to  by  the  sharpest  of  ears. 

And  not  only  does  the  child  observe  and  listen;  he 
directly  and  consciously  as  well  as  unconsciously  imi- 
tates. Are  the  father  and  mother  kind  and  patient 
and  just?  The  child  will  become  more  and  more 
kind  and  patient  and  just.  Are  they  irritable,  given 
to  wrangling,  blind  to  any  save  their  own  interests? 
He  will  grow  like  them  in  his  heart.  If  God  enters 
as  a  vital  factor  into  their  intercourse,  He  will  be  a 
living  Father;  if  He  appears  as  only  a  kind  of  gigan- 
tic fairy  on  Sunday,  without  reality  except  in  the 
wonder  world  of  Church  and  Sunday  School,  He  will 
be  of  as  little  importance  as  the  Santa  Claus,  whom 
the  boy  long  ago  laid  aside.  If  the  parents  pray, 
the  child  will  pray;  if  they  only  tell  him  to  pray,  he 
may  obey  from  necessity,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether 
prayer  will  take  a  strong  hold  on  his  life.  The 
father  and  mother  may  look  upon  themselves  as 
"  saved  ";  but  the  child  asks  naturally,  "  Saved  from 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         17 

what,  and  to  what?"  Are  they  delivered  from 
worry  and  anxiety,  from  gossip  and  slander,  from 
harshness  and  snobbishness,  from  selfishness  and  de- 
ceit? The  test  is  pragmatic.  The  text-book  is  a 
parental  incarnation.  The  outcome  is  a  full-grown 
moral  and  religious  experience  or  a  baseless 
dream. 

To  become  a  parent,  then,  is  necessarily  to  assume 
the  divine  calling  of  the  teacher.  Willy-nilly  we 
must  for  a  time,  at  least,  become  the  chief  educators 
of  a  child  of  God.  In  this  education  it  will  not  be 
enough  to  tell  him  what  to  do,  or  to  teach  him  why 
he  ought  to  do  it,  or  to  govern  him,  to  say  nothing  of 
wheedling  and  cajoling  and  bribing  him,  until  he  does 
with  weak  or  bad  motives  the  good  things  that  the 
parent  wishes  him  to  do.  The  most  effective  way  to 
lead  a  child  into  the  paths  of  righteousness  is  to 
travel  those  paths  oneself.  The  virtues  of  kindness 
and  courtesy,  respect  for  property  rights,  honesty, 
prudence,  frugality,  generosity,  active  co-operation 
in  social  relief  work  and  in  the  task  of  missions  — 
all  these  must  be  not  only  inculcated  but  illustrated. 
Training  in  the  appreciation  of  the  aesthetically  true 
and  lovely,  the  development  of  the  sense  of  de- 
pendence upon  the  mysterious  unseen  as  well  as  of 
the  sense  of  duty  to  the  tangible  and  the  seen,  out 
of  which  is  to  grow  the  man's  vital  and  intelligent  re- 
ligion, must  begin  and  be  carried  on  by  the  parents 
in  the  home. 

The  father  and  mother,  moreover,  must  have  a 


1 8  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

care  not  only  concerning  their  words  and  acts  but 
concerning  the  very  atmosphere  of  their  living.  The 
child  breathes  this  and  responds  to  it  morally  and 
spiritually  as  his  body  does  to  the  foul  air  of  the  tene- 
ments or  the  bracing  breezes  of  the  hills.  They 
have  in  their  keeping  the  hours  which  psychologists 
mark  as  the  most  valuable  and  impressionable  —  the 
first  in  the  morning,  when  the  mood  and  impulse  of 
the  day  is  often  determined,  and  the  last  in  the  eve- 
ning, when  some  transforming  thoughts  and  ideals 
may  be  carried  into  the  land  of  dreams.  The  table 
talk  may  contribute  largely  to  the  best  of  educa- 
tions. It  is  as  easy  here  to  speak  of  the  things 
worth  while  as  to  indulge  in  the  ordinary  chitchat 
over  the  nothings  of  thoughtless  conversation;  and  in 
the  happy  fellowship  of  the  meal  history  and  current 
events,  travel  and  science,  art  and  religion,  civic 
philanthropies  and  missionary  enterprises  may  all 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  mind  of  the  child.  The 
house  which  enshrines  the  home,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  church  edifice,  is  by  no  means  unimportant.  The 
neatness  and  orderliness  of  living  room  and  of  yard, 
beauty  of  shape  and  harmony  of  tone  in  the  furnish- 
ings, the  books  upon  the  shelves  and  tables,  the  pic- 
tures on  the  walls,  all  have  their  influence.  In 
brief,  the  child  in  the  home  is  in  the  greatest  of  moral 
and  religious  universities.  Outwardly  he  may  seem 
to  be  indifferent  or  even  rebellious;  but  the  influences 
exerted  there  consciously  and  unconsciously  sink  deep 
into  the  matrix  of  his  thought-life  and  feeling,  fash- 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         19 

ioning  the  man  and  shaping  the  career  and  deter- 
mining the  achievements  that  are  still  to  be. 

In  the  light  of  all  this  we  are  faced  by  the  lament- 
able fact  that  so  many  of  our  homes  are  moral  and 
religious  failures.  Some  parents  seem  to  be  quite 
indifferent  to  their  own  obligations  and  to  their 
children's  needs.  The  attempt  to  place  the  responsi- 
bility upon  the  shoulders  of  nurses  and  tutors  is  a 
poor  makeshift.  Such  substitutes  for  parental  train- 
ing are  about  as  satisfactory  as  orphanages  are  for 
homes.  To  postpone  the  work  until  the  preparatory 
school  and  college  is  as  rash  as  it  is  foolish.  "  Let 
a  child  wait  until  he  is  grown  and  then  choose  his 
own  religion,"  said  an  English  statesman  in  the  hear- 
ing of  Coleridge.  Coleridge  made  no  reply  but  led 
the  speaker  out  into  his  garden.  Looking  around 
upon  the  bare  ground  he  said  quietly:  "  I  have  de- 
cided not  to  put  out  any  flowers  and  vegetables  this 
year,  but  to  wait  till  August  and  let  the  garden  decide 
for  itself  whether  it  prefers  weeds  or  strawberries." 
The  blind  optimism,  which  seems  to  feel  that  the 
moral  and  religious  training  of  the  child  will  care  for 
itself,  ends  all  too  soon  in  disaster.  The  business  of 
growing  good  men  and  women  will  no  more  care  for 
itself  than  the  business  of  making  a  fortune  or  win- 
ning a  success  in  any  profession  will  care  for  itself. 
Our  immoral,  irreligious,  inefficient  parents  are  our 
greatest  national  menace;  our  greatest  glory  and 
strongest  fortress  is  the  Christian  home. 

Next  to  the  home  in  importance  is  the  school;  and 


20  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

here  we  can  but  touch  upon  a  much  discussed  problem 
—  the  moralising  of  the  school  curriculum  and  its 
relation  to  religion.  That  the  school  ideally,  how- 
ever it  may  be  limited  practically,  should  play  its  full 
part  in  the  moral  and  religious  training  of  our  chil- 
dren goes  without  saying.  It  forms  the  second 
greatest  department  in  the  child's  university.  Here 
the  larger  portion  of  the  time  not  spent  in  the  home 
is  passed.  Next  to  the  parent  in  the  child's  inter- 
ests and  affections  is  the  teacher.  Next  to  the  house 
in  which  he  lives  the  most  important  building  in  the 
world  for  the  boy  is  that  in  which  he  goes  to  school. 
For  his  moral  and  religious  development  the  school 
tasks  furnish  some  of  the  most  fruitful  opportunities. 
Any  attempt,  therefore,  to  eliminate  the  school  from 
the  moral  and  religious  training  of  the  coming  gener- 
ation cannot  but  have  most  unfortunate  and  costly 
consequences.  So  far  as  religion  is  concerned,  we 
feel  obligated  in  our  American  public  schools  to  pay 
them;  and  we  are  paying  them.  With  the  moralis- 
ing of  the  curriculum,  for  a  time,  at  least,  and  pos- 
sibly permanently,  we  must  rest  content. 

This  is  both  possible  and  inevitable.  Not  to  do  it 
well  is  to  do  it  badly.  Under  any  conditions  the 
work  is  done.  Our  wisest  educators  are  welcoming 
the  task  and  giving  it  their  fullest  endeavors.  On 
the  scholastic  side  they  recognise  that  the  aim  of 
education  is  not  merely  the  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
nor  the  preparation  for  earning  a  livelihood,  but  the 
formation  of  a  character,  the  fashioning  of  a  fully 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         21 

developed  and  rightly  directed  will.  Induced  or 
spontaneous  and  impulsive  right  action  must  be  or- 
ganised into  right  habit,  intelligently  appreciated  and 
permanently  chosen;  and  the  school  life  of  the  child 
must  afford  occasion  for  making  such  choices,  form- 
ing such  habits,  testing  moral  judgments,  until  the 
path  of  virtue  is  as  desirable  and  lovely  as  it  is  clear. 
On  the  side  of  the  child  these  wise  educators  recog- 
nise that  the  moral  powers  are  the  noblest  and  most 
important  parts  of  our  human  nature.  To  fail  to 
develop  and  direct  these  is  to  turn  loose  upon  the 
world  abnormal  and  defective  individuals,  citizens 
who  are  both  undesirable  and  dangerous.  "  Why," 
asked  Rufus  King,  in  a  celebrated  school  case  in  Cin- 
cinnati, "  should  I  be  taxed  to  educate  my  neighbour's 
child,  if  the  education  you  give  him  only  makes  a  little 
rascal  twice  as  sharp,  without  any  protection  to  my 
throat?" 

The  evils  from  which  our  nation  suffers  most  are 
not  material  and  physical  but  moral  and  spiritual. 
The  dangers  which  she  has  most  cause  to  fear  are 
not  the  dreadnaughts  of  foreign  nations  but  the  dis- 
eases of  the  body  politic,  which  may  cost  her  the 
loss  of  her  own  soul.  No  one  can  read  without  a 
shock  of  horror  the  statistics  gathered  by  social  stu- 
dents. The  ravages  of  vice  and  crime,  the  awful  toll 
collected  by  dissipation,  the  spectacle  of  ruined 
homes,  the  uncovering  of  weltering  masses  of  social 
pollution  and  of  political  corruption  are  terrible. 
And  the  cure  for  them  is  not  more  and  better  reform 


22  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

schools  and  penitentiaries,  in  which  unfortunately 
too  few  are  either  reformed  or  made  penitent.  It  is 
more  and  better  moral  training  in  the  home  and  pub- 
lic school. 

Our  democracy  makes  large  demands  for  service 
upon  its  citizens.  They  must  be  ready  to  give  accur- 
ate and  trustworthy  testimony  in  our  courts  of  justice. 
Unless  excused  they  must  serve  on  juries,  which  shall 
deal  with  the  lives  and  property  of  their  fellows,  and 
settle  questions  concerning  their  rights  and  liber- 
ties. At  elections  they  must  cast  their  ballots,  wisely 
or  ignorantly,  honestly  or  dishonestly;  and  this  af- 
fects the  nation's  policies  and  destinies.  If  elected 
to  office  they  must  and  should  be  fitted  to  discharge 
its  duties  in  honour  and  efficiency.  For  all  these 
tasks  mere  intellectual  training  is  not  sufficient. 
Moral  qualifications  are  of  paramount  importance; 
and  these  qualifications  will  necessarily  and  inevitably 
be  very  largely  determined  in  our  schools.  "  The 
school  is  society  shaping  itself,"  said  an  American 
educator.  The  German  maxim  runs,  "  What  you 
would  have  appear  in  the  life  of  the  nation  you  must 
put  into  the  schools." 

The  nation,  then,  that  would  save  itself  from  de- 
struction, to  say  nothing  of  rising  to  higher  and 
nobler  existence,  must  see  to  it  that  its  instruction  is 
moralised  and  socialised,  and  that  the  environment 
of  its  school  children  is  wholesome  and  effective. 
Mere  ex  cathedra  statements  of  ethical  principles, 
given  by  teachers  who  neither  through  sympathy  and 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         23 

skill  preach  powerfully,  nor  through  the  beauty  of 
their  own  lives  illustrate  persuasively  and  convinc- 
ingly, are  of  course  largely  impotent.  "  The  incul- 
cation of  moral  laws,"  writes  Professor  Dewey,  "  is 
no  more  likely  to  make  character  than  is  that  of 
astronomical  formulas."  To  Professor  Roark  we 
are  indebted  for  the  story  of  one  high  school  boy 
who  announced  his  expulsion  by  saying,  "  I  got  fired, 
but  I  got  98  in  ethics!  "  It  is  only  where  in  all 
ways  —  through  the  school  architecture,  the  care  of 
buildings  and  grounds,  the  pictures  on  the  walls,  the 
daily  discipline,  the  interpretation  and  application  of 
the  lessons  studied,  systematic  training  in  morals 
rather  than  in  ethics,  and  the  example  set  —  the 
beauty  of  holiness,  moral  wholeness,  is  incarnated 
that  the  nation's  great  work  of  growing  righteous 
and  efficient  men  and  women  can  be  accomplished. 

But  moral  and  secular  education  is  not  enough. 
For  as  has  been  said,  the  child  is  not  only  moral 
but  religious.  To  leave  all  religious  training  out  of 
the  school  naturally  tends  to  make  the  pupil  not  only 
un-religious  but  anti-religious.  Such  education, 
moreover,  does  not  meet  the  highest  needs  either  of 
the  individual  or  of  the  nation.  Nevertheless,  the 
principles  of  Protestantism  as  well  as  of  democracy 
have  made  necessary  the  secularisation  of  the  public 
school.  Judge  Orton,  in  a  Wisconsin  Supreme 
Court  decision,  says :  "  So  long  as  our  Constitution 
remains  as  it  is,  no  one's  religion  can  be  taught  in 
our  Public  Schools." 


24  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

While  recognising  the  present  necessity,  the  fact 
remains  that  education  is  part  of  a  life  process.  In 
the  words  of  President  Butler,  "  It  is  the  adaptation 
of  a  person,  a  self-conscious  being,  to  environment, 
and  the  development  of  capacity  in  a  person  to  mod- 
ify and  control  that  environment."  *  In  the  same 
article  the  writer  analyses  civilisation  into  five  ele- 
ments —  science,  literature,  art,  institutional  life,  and 
religious  belief;  and  asserts  stoutly  that  "  to  omit 
any  one  of  these  is  to  cripple  education  and  to  make 
its  results  at  best  but  partial."  Judged  by  such  a 
standard  it  is  clear  that  our  public  schools  give  but 
an  incomplete  education.  The  great  element  which 
Martineau  defined  as  "  a  belief  and  worship  of  Su- 
preme Mind  and  Will,  directing  the  universe,  and 
holding  moral  relations  with  human  life,"  is  omitted; 
and  without  this,  as  Martineau  held,  man  is  maimed 
and  civilisation  is  unintelligible.  The  great  prob- 
lem, then,  which  confronts  those  eager  for  the  best 
and  most  complete  education  of  our  children,  is  not 
religion  and  education  but  religion  in  education. 
Here  the  status  of  our  American  schools  falls  below 
that  of  the  Old  World. 

In  England  direct  religious  instruction  is  given 
both  in  the  "  provided  "  schools  —  those  founded 
by  the  state  —  and  in  the  "  non-provided  " — those 
founded  by  religious  organisations  but  enjoying  state 
aid.     This  instruction  may  not  be  denominational 

1  Butler,  in  Principles  of  Religious  Education,  New  Yofk,  1901, 
pp.  4,  6. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         25 

and  is  voluntary,  being  given  at  the  beginning  and  at 
the  close  of  the  day,  so  that  children,  whose  parents 
so  desire,  may  absent  themselves.  No  creed,  cate- 
chism or  church  formula  may  enter  into  this  train- 
ing; but  there  is  usually  a  hymn,  a  prayer,  and  a 
Scripture  Lesson,  taught  with  as  great  care  and  thor- 
oughness as  any  other  lesson  of  the  day.  The 
teachers  are  instructed  to  make  these  practical  and 
to  emphasise  not  narrow,  theological  dogmas  but  the 
broad,  underlying,  fundamental  religious  truths. 

In  France  there  is  no  religious  instruction  in  the 
secondary  schools.  More  time,  however,  is  devoted 
to  education  in  morals  and  more  thorough  instruc- 
tion in  this  department  is  given  than  in  any  other 
great  nation  with  the  exception  of  Japan;  and  while 
the  appeal  is  to  the  moral  rather  than  to  the  religious 
sanctions,  duties  toward  God  are  included  in  the  of- 
ficial programme,  even  though  to  those  apparently 
little  time  and  attention  are  given. 

A  similar  attempt  in  Japan  to  educate  the  people 
in  morals  entirely  divorced  from  religion  is  an  ad- 
mitted failure.  Since  the  new  educational  code  of 
1879,  and  the  rescript  of  the  Emperor  in  1890,  the 
Japanese  system  has  been  the  most  sincere  and 
thorough-going  attempt  in  all  the  world  to  accom- 
plish this  feat.  Yet  in  spite  of  all  the  teaching  some 
authorities  note  a  growing  laxity  of  morals  in  the 
great  student  body.  A.  Pieters,  who  is  in  close  touch 
with  the  situation,  writes :  "  No  doubt  the  moral 
teaching  is   interesting   and   effective   in  the   lower 


26  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

grades.  It  is  often  said,  however,  by  both  teachers 
and  pupils,  that  as  the  latter  grow  older  the  moral 
teaching  loses  both  interest  and  power.  A  student 
once  said  to  the  writer,  '  Of  all  studies  ethics  is  the 
most  tedious.  Our  teachers  tell  us  that  we  must  be 
honest,  truthful,  virtuous  —  all  of  which  we  know 
very  well;  but  they  impart  to  us  no  moral  power  to 
do  these  things.'  " 

In  Germany  just  the  opposite  plan  is  followed. 
Formal  instruction  in  morals  is  not  included  in  the 
curriculum,  but  the  children  are  brought  under  the 
most  rigid  system  of  religious  instruction  in  the 
world.  The  subject  of  religion  holds  the  first  place 
in  the  programme  of  study,  officially  and  practically. 
The  first  hour  in  the  morning  is  assigned  to  it.  The 
teachers  are  those  regularly  appointed  for  secular 
instruction  and  are  carefully  trained  for  the  task. 
Unfortunately  the  German  system  suffers  from  too 
much  creed  and  catechism.  Professor  Kirschner,  of 
Berlin,  describes  it  as  a  "  surfeit  of  religious  doc- 
trines, maxims,  hymns,  forms,  ceremonies."  An- 
other student  of  the  situation  writes :  "  Instruction 
in  religion  is  absolutely  indispensable;  but  the  exist- 
ing instruction  is  completely  out  of  harmony  with  the 
best  thought  of  the  day  and  stands  in  need  of  radical 
reform.  As  a  result  the  religious  instruction  is  not 
closely  enough  related  to  modern  life  and  thought, 
while  in  some  instances  the  course  given  stifles  the  re- 
ligious spirit  and  does  not  encourage  morality." 

In  our  own  land  education  is  a  local  matter,  and 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         27 

the  community  follows  its  own  sweet  will.  In  some 
states  the  attempt  has  been  made  to  furnish  direct 
moral  training.  North  Carolina  is  contented  to  re- 
quire that  her  teachers  "encourage  morality "; 
while  West  Virginia  goes  so  far  as  to  charge  "  all 
teachers,  boards  of  education,  and  other  school  of- 
ficers with  the  duty  of  providing  that  moral  train- 
ing for  the  youth  of  this  state  which  will  contribute  to 
securing  good  behaviour  and  manners,  and  furnish 
the  state  with  exemplary  citizens.'' 

As  for  direct  religious  training  there  is  little  or 
none.  One  educator  estimates  that  in  about  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  "  opening  exercises  "  a  Bible 
reading  will  be  found,  sometimes  with  the  use  of  the 
Lord's  prayer  and  certain  religious  and  patriotic 
songs.  No  state  legislature  has  ever  passed  a  law 
specifically  excluding  the  Bible  by  name  from  use  in 
the  public  schools,  though  some  forbid  the  "  secta- 
rian use  "  of  it.  In  nearly  one-quarter  of  the  states 
there  are  enactments  to  prevent  this.  In  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  example,  a  law  was  passed  in  19 13  making 
it  compulsory  for  every  teacher  in  a  public  school  to 
read  without  comment  before  the  pupils  not  less  than 
ten  verses  daily  from  the  Bible,  the  penalty  for  fail- 
ure to  do  so  being  dismissal.  Most  of  our  state 
constitutions  forbid  sectarian  religious  instruction  in 
the  public  schools,  while  about  one-half  exclude 
books  which  further  the  doctrines  of  any  particular 
religious  sect.1 

1  In  Arizona,  California,   Illinois,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Montana, 
New   York    and   Washington    the    reading   of   the    Bible    in   public 


28  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Interesting  plans  of  a  more  positive  and  progres- 
sive character  are  being  discussed  by  various  educa- 
tional and  legislative  bodies.  The  State  Teachers' 
Association  of  Colorado  has  passed  resolutions  com- 
mending "  to  the  Sunday  School  for  classes  of  high 
school  grade  the  recognised  standards  of  the  North 
Central  Association  of  Secondary  Schools  and  Col- 
leges; that,  when  these  standards  have  been  attained, 
it  recommends  that  high  schools  give  credit  for  Bible 
study  of  corresponding  grade  in  the  Sunday  School, 
to  an  extent  not  to  exceed  one-fourth  unit  for  each 
year's  work."  In  Indiana  and  North  Dakota  high 
school  credits  are  given  for  the  study  of  the  Bible 
as  literature  outside  of  school  hours.  New  York 
City  furnishes  religious  teaching  without  charge  out 

schools  has  been  officially  discountenanced  but  not  wholly  discon- 
tinued. In  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  and  Wyoming  there  is  nothing 
in  the  state  laws,  court  decisions  or  official  opinions  for  or  against 
the  practice;  but  custom  is  against  it,  and  such  reading  is  prob- 
ably very  rare.  In  Connecticut,  Delaware,  Florida,  Louisiana, 
Maryland,  New  Hampshire,  Tennessee,  and  Vermont  Bible  read- 
ing is  customary  but  by  no  means  universal.  In  Arkansas,  Idaho, 
North  Carolina,  Rhode  Island,  Utah,  and  Virginia  the  State  Su- 
perintendent of  Education  has  given  a  favourable  opinion;  while 
Supreme  Court  decisions  in  Kentucky,  Maine,  Michigan,  Nebraska, 
Ohio,  Oregon,  Texas,  West  Virginia,  and  Wisconsin  have  favoured 
the  reading  of  the  Bible  without  comment.  Specific  statutes  permit 
the  practice  in  Alabama,  Georgia,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Okla- 
homa, Mississippi,  and  New  Jersey.  Only  South  Dakota  allows 
Bible  reading  with  unsectarian  comment.  In  Colorado,  mentioned 
in  the  text,  Bible  reading  is  not  customary,  but  credits  are  given 
for  outside  Bible  study.  The  only  States  in  which  Bible  reading 
in  the  public  schools  is  required  by  law  are  Massachusetts,  since 
1855,  and  Pennsylvania,  since  1913.  For  summary,  see  "  The  Bible 
in  School  Plans  of  Many  Lands,"  by  Wilbur  F.  Crafts,  pages  6 
and  73. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         29 

of  school  hours  in  school  buildings,  skilled  public 
school  teachers  supplementing  the  Bible  readings  re- 
quired in  all  the  public  schools  by  instruction  in  the 
pupils'  own  faith.1 

As  for  the  much  discussed  Gary  School  Plan,  there 
is  no  introduction  of  religious  instruction  into  the 
public  school  system.  The  authorities  do  not  in  any 
way  "  control,  supervise,  support,  or  patronise  the 
church  schools.  The  pupil  is  merely  enabled  to  at- 
tend religious  instruction  during  school  hours  be- 
cause his  parents  by  written  statement  withdraw  him 
for  the  hour  in  question  from  the  public  schools. 
He  may  use  the  hour  as  his  parents  please,  for  music 
lessons  or  to  help  in  the  house  work.  No  credit  is 
given  for  studies  pursued  in  the  church  schools. 
There  are  really  two  sets  of  schools  in  Gary,  whose 
only  relation  is  the  dove-tailing  of  the  time 
schedule."  2  Nevertheless,  the  plan  does  make  pos- 
sible for  those  who  desire  it  daily  denominational 
Bible  study  in  churches  and  synagogues  during  school 
hours,  and  pastors  of  all  faiths  are  permitted  to  make 
unsectarian  addresses  in  the  schools. 

In  general  it  is  safe  to  say  that  where  direct  moral 
instruction  is  attempted  it  is  usually  incidental  and 
unsystematic,  while  direct  religious  training  is  prac- 
tically a  negligible  quantity.     If  religion  is  appreci- 

1  Wilbur  F.  Crafts,   The  Bible  in  School  Plans  of  Many  Lands. 
See  also,  "  Report  of  the  Commission  on  Christian  Education  to 

the  Quadrennial  Meeting  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America,"  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  December,  1916. 

2  Coe,  Religious  Education,  April,  1916. 


3o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

ated,  it  is  evidently  viewed  as  the  exclusive  task  of 
the  home  and  of  the  church,  teachers  in  the  public 
schools  being  expected  to  maintain  a  kind  of  religious 
neutrality,  neither  furthering  nor  hindering  the  great 
work.  After  a  survey  of  conditions  in  various  coun- 
tries Professor  Charles  De  Garmo  writes:  "  From 
the  standpoint  of  the  development  of  religious  in- 
telligence, the  American  system  must  be  pronounced 
the  most  fragmentary,  partial,  inefficient,  haphazard 
system  in  the  world."  * 

The  result  of  all  this  is  that  as  a  nation  our  prog- 
ress in  morals  and  our  growth  in  religion  have  not 
been  commensurate  with  our  intellectual  achieve- 
ments and  our  advance  in  technical  skill.  Many  of 
our  boys  and  girls  grow  up  believing  that  religion 
has  no  intrinsic  and  necessary  place  in  real  life. 
Those  who  champion  it  are  to  their  minds  peculiar 
and  erratic,  not  quite  normal.  The  supernatural,  to 
use  that  much  abused  word,  becomes  to  them  almost 
synonymous  with  the  superstitious.  Anything  which 
is  tinged  with  the  mystical,  which  cannot  be  reasoned 
out  logically  and  plotted  geometrically  and  proved 
scientifically,  is  negligible  if  not  queer.  Religion 
may  belong  to  sainthood,  but  they  have  no  desire  to 
be  saints,  at  least  the  kind  with  which  art  and 
story  have  made  them  familiar.  It  may  be  orna- 
mental as  a  social  frill,  a  means  of  entering  one  sec- 
tion of  what  L  termed  "  good  society  ";  but  so  far 

1  De   Garmo,   in   Principles   of  Religious  Education,   New   York, 
1901,  P-  63. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         31 

as  they  are  concerned,  that  is  all.  The  life  of  Jesus 
is  not  synonymous  with  their  ideal.  In  fact,  the  real 
Christ  is  to  them  practically  unknown.  Their  con- 
ception of  Him  is  as  unlike  the  original  as  the  paint- 
ings of  the  early  Italian  school  or  the  drawings  in 
the  catacombs.  The  Master  appears  in  their  eyes  as 
the  wan  ascetic,  the  sentimental  dreamer,  the  heav- 
enly herald  of  an  impractical  code  of  ethics  and  a 
teacher  of  a  theological  system  which  the  world  has 
outgrown.  Naturally  the  church  for  them  ceases  to 
function.  It  is  a  social  club,  a  purveyor  of  pious 
platitudes,  apparently  a  comfort  and  a  joy  to  the 
select  few  who  are  emotionally  excitable  and  men- 
tally credulous.  But  for  practical  men  of  the  world, 
for  all  thinkers  familiar  with  science  and  philosophy, 
it  may  safely  be  allowed  to  pass  out  of  their  lives. 

All  this  is  as  lamentable  as  it  is  ignorant.  The 
religious  conceptions  of  such  uninstructed  and  unde- 
veloped boys  and  girls  belong  in  the  same  category 
with  some  of  their  definitions.  In  one  school  a  mos- 
quito was  described  as  the  child  of  black  and  white 
parents,  while  a  monastery  was  characterized  as  a 
place  for  keeping  monsters!.  All  this  would  be 
humorous  if  it  were  not  so  tragic.  For  it  is  the 
ranks  of  the  religiously  neglected  which  furnish  us, 
for  the  most  part,  with  the  citizens  who  are  content 
to  appropriate  and  enjoy  all  the  material  benefits  of 
the  twentieth  century  while  they  practice  the  morals 
of  the  fifteenth  and  scoff  at  what  they  mistakenly 
imagine  was  the  religion  of  the  fifth.     They  are 


32  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

largely  responsible  for  the  men  and  women  who  con- 
done if  they  do  not  practice  our  social  vices,  and 
who  approve  in  deed  if  not  in  theory  the  methods  of 
unscrupulous  business,  the  principles  of  Machiavel- 
lian diplomacy,  and  the  ethics  of  the  superman. 
They  are  the  folk  who  maintain  the  negative  in  the 
debate  as  to  whether  a  manufacturer  can  be  honest 
and  succeed  in  commercial  undertakings,  and  who  are 
not  shocked  when  it  is  proclaimed  that  the  Golden 
Rule  has  no  place  in  politics.  In  them  the  great  aim 
of  the  best  and  fullest  education  has  not  been  at- 
tained. Intelligence  in  regard  to  the  most  vital  mat- 
ters has  not  been  developed,  the  Christian  spirit  has 
not  been  nurtured,  the  habit  of  Christian  conduct  has 
not  been  inculcated  and  ingrained.  The  cost  is  ter- 
rible. That  we  are  paying  it  is  apparent.  What 
we  shall  pay  if  the  present  attitude  continues  is  not 
pleasant  to  contemplate. 

Here  for  the  private  school  is  an  opportunity  of 
which  the  best  are  availing  themselves.  In  such  in- 
stitutions morality  and  religion  may  enter  not  only 
the  curriculum  but  the  whole  life  of  the  student  body; 
and  where  this  is  true  the  results  are  gratifying  in 
the  extreme.  In  some  denominational  institutions 
the  error  of  the  German  system  is  repeated.  The 
boy  and  the  girl  enter  college  weary  of  a  surfeit  of 
catechism  and  church  service,  and  leave  college  per- 
suaded that  a  religion  which  proved  to  be  so  unsub- 
stantial in  the  light  of  modern  science  and  philos- 
ophy, and  so  impractical  in  the  daily  experience,  is  as 


IMPORTANCE  OF  TRAINING         33 

valueless  as  it  is  unreal.  But  where  morality  is 
firmly  based  and  religion  clearly  and  wisely  inter- 
preted, the  student  finds  that  every  year  brings  him 
into  a  larger  experience  of  a  "  power  not  himself 
that  makes  for  righteousness,"  and  through  the  fel- 
lowship of  genuinely  religious  companions  and 
teachers  enters  himself  into  a  living  communion  with 
the  "  personal  Spirit,  perfectly  good,  who  in  holy 
love  creates,  sustains  and  orders  all." 

This  has  been  called  the  century  of  the  child. 
The  result  of  the  work  of  educators  from  Rousseau 
to  Montessori  has  been  to  centre  our  attention  as  in- 
dividuals and  as  nations  upon  our  most  hopeful 
fields,  our  most  priceless  possessions.  The  pro- 
phetic promise  that  "  a  little  child  shall  lead  them  " 
has  always  been  true  and  always  will  be  true.  Who 
else  can?  The  highway  of  the  world's  future  fol- 
lows necessarily  the  trail  blazed  by  the  hands  and 
trodden  by  the  feet  of  our  children;  and  we  are  re- 
sponsible for  seeing  to  it  that  this  trail  in  home  and 
in  school  is  none  other  than  the  King's  highway,  "  the 
highway  of  our  God." 


This  is  the  end  of  the  matter;  all  hath  been  heard:  Fear 
God,  and  keep  his  commandments;  for  this  is  the  whole 
duty  of  man. 

—  Ecclesiastes  xii,  13. 

What  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to 
love  kindness,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God? 

—  Micah  vi,  8. 

Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the 
great  and  first  commandment.  And  a  second  like  unto 
it  is  this,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

—  Matthew  xxii,  37-39. 

By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them. 

—  Matthew  vii,  20. 

But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering, 
kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness,  self-control ; 
against  such  there  is  no  law. 

—  Galatians  v,  22. 

Whatever  our  theological  faith,  whatever  our  religious  prac- 
tices, and  whatever  our  religious  pedagogics,  their  sole 
use  and  value  consist  in  helping  us  to  lives  of  love  and 
righteousness  before  God  and  man. 

—  Professor  Borden  P.  Boivne. 


CHAPTER  III 

AIM  AND  METHOD   OF   RELIGIOUS   TRAINING 

We  have  seen  that  the  religious  training  of  chil- 
dren is  a  matter  of  great  and  vital  importance.  This 
being  so,  let  us  try  to  determine  its  aim  and  method. 
It  is  the  bane  of  much  of  our  educational  effort  that 
we  are  not  conscious  of  the  real  end  to  be  attained. 
Hence,  much  of  our  method  is  imperfect  and  some  of 
it  practically  useless.  We  are  as  travelers  on  a  road 
not  knowing  whither  it  leads  nor  fully  conscious  of 
just  where  we  want  to  go.  If  religious  education  is 
to  be  a  rational  procedure,  we  must  have  some  defi- 
nite conception  of  its  ultimate  goal.  Then  we  can 
intelligently  try  to  determine  the  means  of  reaching 
it. 

To  do  this  we  must  first  determine  the  aim  of  re- 
ligion itself,  and  especially  of  religion  in  its  highest 
form,  which  we  deem  to  be  the  Christian  religion. 
The  religion  of  Christ  is  pre-eminently  ethical  in  its 
character.  It  represents  God's  will  as  an  absolutely 
righteous  will  engaged  in  establishing  a  kingdom  of 
righteous  souls.  With  profound  moral  insight  Jesus 
regards  the  very  core  of  religion  to  be  ethical.  That 
marvellous  discourse  which  we  call  the  Sermon  on 

35 


36  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  Mount  evinces  this.  The  so-called  Beatitudes 
with  which  the  sermon  opens  relate  to  the  virtues. 
Who  are  the  blessed?  Are  they  not  those  who  are 
meek,  merciful,  pure  in  heart,  and  who  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness,  and  who  are  persecuted 
for  righteousness'  sake?  A  reward  is  associated 
with  all  these  forms  of  righteous  life.  Further- 
more, as  we  follow  the  Great  Teacher  in  this  re- 
markable discourse,  its  profoundly  ethical  char- 
acter becomes  more  and  more  manifest.  Men  are 
enjoined  to  let  their  light  shine,  so  that  others  may 
see  their  good  works.  Their  righteousness  is  to 
exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Pharisees.  They 
are  not  to  be  angry  with  a  brother  without  cause; 
only  righteous  anger  is  justifiable.  They  are  to 
agree  with  an  adversary  quickly.  They  are  to  love 
their  enemies.  They  are  to  be  perfect,  as  their 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  They  are  not  to  make 
parade  of  their  almsgiving.  They  are  to  pray  not 
to  be  led  into  temptation,  but  to  be  delivered  from 
evil.  They  are  to  develop  a  proper  sense  of  values 
and  lay  up  treasures  in  heaven.  They  are  to  serve 
God  rather  than  mammon.  They  are  to  seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness.  They 
are  to  be  charitable  in  their  judgment  of  others. 
Whatsoever  they  would  that  men  should  do  to  them, 
they  should  do  even  so  to  others.  They  are  to  be 
known  by  their  fruits.  Membership  in  the  Father's 
kingdom  is  conditioned  on  doing  his  righteous  will: 
it  is  not  everyone  that  saith,  Lord,  Lord,  that  shall 


AIM  AND  METHOD  37 

enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  rather  those 
who  do  the  righteous  will  of  God.1 

Nor  are  the  parables  of  Jesus  less  pronounced  in 
their  ethical  teaching.  When  he  was  asked  by  his 
disciples  to  "  declare  "  unto  them  the  parable  of  the 
tares  of  the  field,  his  reply  was  that  the  tares  "  are 
the  children  of  the  wicked  one,"  and  that  destruc- 
tion will  be  their  end;  but  that  "  the  righteous  shall 
shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their 
Father."  2  Again,  he  likens  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  a  net  filled  with  fishes,  from  which,  when  drawn 
to  shore,  the  good  are  put  into  vessels  and  the  bad 
are  cast  away.  "  So,"  he  adds,  "  shall  it  be  in  the 
end  of  the  world:  the  angels  shall  come  forth,  and 
sever  the  wicked  from  the  righteous."  3  It  is  the 
just  who  are  to  be  saved :  It  is  the  wicked  who  are 
to  be  destroyed.  Jesus  is  dealing  with  character 
here,  with  righteous  and  unrighteous  souls.  The 
fact  of  supreme  worth  in  the  judgment  of  the  Master 
is  character.  It  is  the  one  thing  that  endures.  The 
supreme  value  of  the  soul,  because  of  its  moral  pos- 
sibilities, is  in  the  Master's  thought.  What  a  pro- 
found lesson  in  ethical  values  is  presented  in  that 
solemn  question,  "  What  shall  a  man  be  profited,  if 
he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  forfeit  his  life?  " 
And  he  adds,  "  Everyone  shall  be  rewarded  accord- 
ing to  his  works."  4  In  his  reply  to  the  tempting 
lawyer,  he  states  the  two  highest  laws  of  man's  being 
to  be  ethical.     The  first  enjoins   supreme  love  to 

1  Matthew  v,  vi,  vii.  3  Matthew  xiii,  47-50. 

2  Matthew  xiii,  24-30,  36-43.  4  Matthew  xvi,  26-27. 


38  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

God  and  the  second  self-sacrificing  love  to  man.1 
The  first  command  is  fulfilled  in  the  obedience  to 
God's  righteous  will;  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samar- 
itan illustrates  the  meaning  of  the  second.  The 
Master  Teacher  here  lays  down  the  commands  which 
comprehend  the  whole  duty  of  man.  He  points  out 
that  religion  aims  to  establish  man  in  morally  right 
relations  with  God,  with  his  fellowmen  and  with  him- 
self. In  short,  in  Jesus  we  have  a  great  teacher, 
who  sees  eternal  life  to  consist  in  character,  and  in 
character  that  expresses  itself  in  righteous  living. 
His  blessings,  his  exhortations,  his  explanations,  his 
penalties  and  rewards,  are  all  ethical  in  their  char- 
acter. Love  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  love  expresses  itself  in  righteous  service. 
With  the  Master  a  lofty  ethical  pragmatism  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  religion.  This,  too,  is  perfectly  il- 
lustrated in  his  life;  for  it  is  written,  "  He  went 
about  doing  good."  His  life  was  a  life  of  supreme 
love  and  service  to  God  and  to  man.  According  to 
Jesus,  then,  the  aim  of  true  religion  is  ethical, —  the 
establishment  of  a  kingdom  of  righteous  souls. 

In  all  this  Jesus  was  the  true  successor  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  The  Hebrew  religion  is  also  pro- 
foundly ethical.  Social  righteousness  in  obedience  to 
the  Divine  will  was  pre-eminently  the  message  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  As  Professor  Rauschenbusch 
says : 2 

1  Matthew  xxii,   35-40. 

2  Rauschenbusch,  Christianity  and  the  Social  Crisis,  New  York, 
1917,  PP-  5,  6,  7. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  39 

"  The  prophets  insisted  on  a  right  life  as  the  true  worship 
of  God.  Morality  to  them  was  not  merely  a  prerequisite 
of  effective  ceremonial  worship.  They  brushed  sacrificial 
ritual  aside  altogether  as  trifling  compared  with  righteous- 
ness, nay,  as  a  harmful  substitute  and  a  hindrance  for  ethical 
religion.  '  I  desire  goodness  and  not  sacrifice,'  said  Hosea,1 
and  Jesus  was  fond  of  quoting  the  words.  The  book  of 
Isaiah  begins  with  a  description  of  the  disasters  which  had 
overtaken  the  nation,  and  then  in  impassioned  words  the 
prophet  spurns  the  means  taken  to  appease  Jehovah's  anger. 
He  said  the  herds  of  beasts  trampling  his  temple-court,  the 
burning  fat,  the  reek  of  blood,  the  clouds  of  incense,  were  a 
weariness  and  an  abomination  to  the  God  whom  they  were 
meant  to  please.  Their  festivals  and  solemn  meetings,  their 
prayers  and  prostrations,  were  iniquity  from  which  he 
averted  his  face.  What  he  wanted  was  a  right  life  and  the 
righting  of  social  wrongs :  '  Your  hands  are  full  of  blood. 
Wash  you!  Make  you  clean!  Put  away  the  evil  of  your 
doings  from  before  mine  eyes!  Cease  to  do  evil!  Learn  to 
do  right!  Seek  justice!  Relieve  the  oppressed !  Secure  jus- 
tice for  the  orphaned  and  plead  for  the  widow.'  2 

"  Perhaps  the  simplest  and  most  beautiful  expression  of 
that  reformatory  conception  of  true  religion  is  contained  in 
the  words  of  Micah:  'Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  Je- 
hovah, and  bow  myself  before  the  high  God?  Shall  I  come 
before  him  with  burnt-offerings,  with  calves  a  year  old? 
Will  Jehovah  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil?  Shall  I  give  my  firstborn  for 
my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul? 
He  hath  shewed  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good ;  and  what  doth 
Jehovah  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kind- 
ness, and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?  3 

1  Hosea  vi,  6. 

2  Isaiah  i,  10-17. 

3  Micah  vi,  6-8.     See  also  Psalm  xl,  6;  li,  16-17. 


4o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

"  Amos  and  Jeremiah  even  tried  to  cut  away  the  founda- 
tion of  antiquity  on  which  the  sacrificial  system  rested,  by 
denying  that  God  had  commanded  sacrifices  at  all  when  he 
constituted  the  nation  after  the  exodus  from  Egypt.  Obedi- 
ence was  all  that  he  had  required.1  .  .  . 

"  The  prophets  were  the  heralds  of  the  fundamental  truth 
that  religion  and  ethics  are  inseparable,  and  that  ethical  con- 
duct is  the  supreme  and  sufficient  religious  act." 

The  New  Testament  writers  are  in  harmony  with 
Jesus  and  the  Hebrew  prophets  in  their  conception  of 
religion.  They  did  not  fail  to  recognise  this  ethical 
aim  of  religion,  nor  fail  to  make  it  the  core  of  their 
teaching.  Righteousness  before  God  and  man  is  the 
burden  of  their  message.  With  them,  "  The  fruit 
of  the  light  is  in  all  goodness  and  righteousness  and 
truth."  2  According  to  them  "  The  eyes  of  the  Lord 
are  toward  the  righteous,  And  his  ears  are  open  to 
their  cry,"  but  "  The  face  of  the  Lord  is  against 
those  that  do  evil."  3  They  look  for  "  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness." 
Love  is  the  supreme  affection  and  love  manifests  it- 
self in  doing  the  commandments  of  God.  A  per- 
fect moral  adjustment  of  our  relations  to  God,  to 
our  neighbours  and  to  ourselves  is  the  aim  of  our 
religious  life.  The  Christian  idea  of  salvation  nega- 
tively conceived  is  salvation  from  sin,  from  moral 
evil.  Positively  conceived,  it  is  the  full  realisation 
of  the  life  of  righteousness. 

1  Amos  v,  25 ;  Jeremiah  vii,  22-23. 

2  Ephesians  v,  9. 

3  Psalm  xxxiv,   15-16. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  41 

In  view  of  this  ethical  character  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  what  should  be  the  aim  of  religious  education 
viewed  from  the  Christian  standpoint?  Is  it  not  to 
establish  the  child  in  those  virtues  that  are  expressive 
of  Christian  character,  that  constitute  the  permanent 
expression  of  that  right  adjustment  of  the  individual 
in  his  relations  to  God,  and  to  society,  and  to  him- 
self? 

This,  however,  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to  train 
the  child  in  Ethics,  or  Christian  Ethics  and  Theology. 
Childhood  and  early  youth  are  not  the  periods  when 
children  and  youth  should  be  introduced  either  to  a 
science  of  morals  or  to  a  science  of  religion.  What 
the  teacher  and  parent  should  aim  to  do  is  to  estab- 
lish the  child  in  those  habits  of  will  and  forms  of 
conduct  that  are  so  essential  to  the  highest  develop- 
ment and  welfare  of  the  individual  and  of  society  — • 
in  those  virtues  that  are  commanded  by  the  Christian 
religion  —  that  are  expressive  of  Christian  character. 

Now  in  such  training  it  is  exceedingly  important 
to  determine  as  nearly  as  possible  the  virtues  and 
vices  that  belong  more  or  less  conspicuously  to  the  re- 
spective stages  of  the  individual's  development. 
This  should  be  done  by  employing  the  methods  of 
psychology  in  a  careful  study  of  the  moral  and  re- 
ligious unfolding  of  the  child.  The  more  direct 
methods  of  such  a  psychological  study  should  be  sup- 
plemented by  a  questionnaire  circulated  among  hun- 
dreds of  grade  teachers,  securing  the  results  of  their 
observation,   based  on  wide   experience.     In   these 


42  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

ways  we  may  determine,  approximately  at  least,  what 
virtues  and  vices  should  be  dealt  with  in  ele- 
mentary moral  and  religious  instruction.  A  pro- 
gramme containing  the  results  thus  attained  is  pre- 
sented in  the  chapters  that  follow. 

Having  determined  approximately  the  virtues  that 
are  more  or  less  peculiar  to  the  respective  grades,  the 
next  task  in  moral  and  religious  training  is  to  de- 
termine the  right  method  or  methods  of  establishing 
the  child  in  them,  and  of  guarding  him  against  the 
corresponding  vices.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that 
here  we  are  dealing  with  the  problem  of  habit-forma- 
tion. In  training  the  child  in  the  virtues,  we  are  try- 
ing to  establish  him  in  right  habits  of  will  and  in 
right  forms  of  conduct.  Accordingly  our  business 
is  to  determine  the  best  method  or  methods  for  the 
realisation  of  this  end. 

Habit  may  be  broadly  defined  as  an  acquired  tend- 
ency in  the  behaviour  or  activity  of  persons  and 
things.  We  say  "  things,"  because  in  a  sense  all 
things  material  and  organic,  as  well  as  minds,  are 
subject  to  habit.  Dumont  illustrates  this  with  refer- 
ences to  inorganic  and  organic  things  as  follows: 
"  Every  one  knows  how  a  garment,  after  having  been 
worn  a  certain  time,  clings  to  the  shape  of  the  body 
better  than  when  it  was  new;  there  has  been  a  change 
in  the  tissue,  and  this  change  is  a  new  habit  of  co- 
hesion. ...  It  costs  less  trouble  to  fold  a  paper 
when  it  has  been  folded  already  .  .  .  and  just  so  in 
the  nervous  system  the  impressions  of  outer  objects 


AIM  AND  METHOD  43 

fashion  for  themselves  more  and  more  appropriate 
paths,  and  these  vital  phenomena  recur  under  similar 
excitements  from  without,  when  they  have  been  in- 
terrupted a  certain  time."  1 

Habit,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  nervous 
mechanism,  is  an  exceedingly  important  matter  to 
the  parent  and  teacher  because  of  the  intimate  rela- 
tions existing  between  the  mind  and  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. Modern  psychology  practically  proceeds  on 
the  basis  of  all  mental  activity  being  correlated  with 
nervous  activity.  Now  the  nervous  mechanism  is 
very  plastic  in  the  child  and  because  of  this  plasticity 
actions  easily  become  automatic.  Hence  much  of 
the  daily  activity  of  the  individual  is  purely  mechan- 
ical. It  is  well  that  it  is  so,  or  we  should  make 
practically  no  progress.  Were  we  compelled  every 
time  we  attempt  to  perform  an  act  to  do  it  independ- 
ently of  any  aid  received  from  previous  perform- 
ances of  the  same  thing,  life  would  not  progress. 
But  each  time  a  thing  is  done,  the  "  path  "  or  "  scar  " 
in  the  nervous  system  becomes  deeper,  and  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  act,  on  occasion  of  the  occurrence  of  the 
stimulus,  results  automatically.  So  our  business  is, 
as  Professor  James  says,  in  his  classic  chapter  on 
habit,  to  make  the  nervous  system  our  ally.  "  The 
great  thing,  then,  in  all  education,  is  to  make  our 
nervous  system  our  ally  instead  of  our  enemy.  It  is 
to  fund  and  capitalise  our  acquisitions,  and  live  at 
ease  upon  the  interest  of  the  fund.     For  this  we  must 

1  Quoted  from  James's  Psychology,  New  York,  1892,  pp.  136-37. 


44  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

make  automatic  and  habitual,  as  early  as  possible,  as 
many  useful  actions  as  we  can,  and  guard  against  the 
growing  into  ways  that  are  likely  to  be  disadvan- 
tageous to  us,  as  we  should  guard  against  the 
plague."  1  If  this  be  important  with  reference  to 
education  in  general,  it  is  even  more  so  in  the  field 
of  moral  training  because  of  the  vital  issues  at 
stake. 

However,  not  only  the  nervous  system,  but  the 
mind  also  is  subject  to  habit.  Just  as  the  nervous 
mechanism  is  moulded  into  definite  and  fixed  modes 
of  behaviour,  so  is  the  mind.  There  are  mental 
automatisms  as  well  as  neural  ones;  and  since  in 
morals  we  are  dealing  primarily  with  mental  habits, 
it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  we  appreciate 
the  significance  of  habit-formation  and  the  laws  that 
govern  it,  from  this  point  of  view.  "  It  is  never  to 
be  forgotten,"  says  Professor  MacCunn,  "that  — 
unless  we  are  prepared  to  say  that  Soul  is  Body  —  it 
is  the  repetition  of  psychical  states  that  are  the  causes 
of  moral  habits.  The  psychical  state  no  doubt  may 
have  its  physiological  concomitants.  For,  so  far  as 
our  knowledge  goes,  it  would  seem  that  this  is  always 
the  case.  Yet  if  the  psychical  states,  or  to  be  more 
specific,  if  the  strivings  of  desire  be  not  induced,  the 
moral  habit  will  not  be  formed,  not  even  though  we 
could  compel  the  whole  physical  side  of  the  perform- 
ance, including  the  most  secret  neural  and  muscular 
movements.     When,  therefore,  we  adopt  the  famil- 

1  James,  Psychology,  New  York,  1892,  p.  144. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  45 

iar  statement  that  habits  come  of  repeated  actions,  it 
is  clearly  to  be  understood  that  the  actions  cover,  as 
main  element,  the  psychical  side  of  outward  perform- 
ance." 1  We  see  from  all  this,  then,  that  both  in  the 
nervous  mechanism  and  in  the  mind  itself  repetition 
is  one  of  the  fundamental  conditions  of  habit-forma- 
tion. 

Another  fact  of  our  psychical  life  must  be  reckoned 
with  in  habit-formation,  and  that  is  imitation.  Imi- 
tation is  instinctive  with  the  child.  In  very  early  life 
much  of  it  is  merely  reflexive.  But  in  the  period 
with  which  we  are  dealing  a  large  part  of  it  is  volun- 
tary. At  first  the  deed  is  imitated,  then  the  per- 
son. At  first  the  boy  or  girl  desires  to  do  the  thing 
that  the  father  or  mother  does.  Later  they  desire 
to  be  like  the  father  or  mother.2  Children  are 
really  "  born  actors."  Instinctively  they  "  play  the 
part  " ;  and  the  part  is,  of  course,  furnished  them  by 
example.  The  result  is  that  example  becomes, 
through  this  instinctive  tendency  to  imitate,  a  most 
powerful  factor  in  the  formation  of  habits,  and  pre- 
eminently so  in  the  formation  of  good  and  bad 
habits.  Therefore,  we  must  take  advantage  of  this 
in  character-building. 

Again,  in  the  formation  of  habits,  we  deal  with 
motives.  Motives  are  the  sources  or  springs  of  will- 
ing. This  is  particularly  so  in  the  moral  sphere. 
Now  one  of  the  most  fundamental  laws  of  habit- 

1  MacCunn,  The  Making  of  Character,  New  York  and  London, 
1910,  p.  41. 
2Cf.  Weigle,  The  Pupil  and  the  Teacher,  New  York,  1911,  p.  28. 


46  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

formation  from  this  point  of  view  is  this:  "If  a 
mental  state  or  bodily  act  is  made  to  follow  or  ac- 
company a  certain  situation  with  resulting  satisfac- 
tion, it  will  tend  to  go  with  that  situation  in  the 
future.  The  applications  of  the  law  to  teaching  are 
comprised  in  the  simple  and  obvious,  but  too  com- 
monly neglected  rules :  Put  together  what  you  wish 
to  have  go  together.  Reward  good  impulses.  Con- 
versely: Keep  apart  what  you  wish  to  have  sepa- 
rate. Let  undesirable  impulses  bring  discomfort."  l 
These  simple  rules  are  especially  patent  in  the  forma- 
tion of  moral  habits,  in  which  reward  in  whatever 
terms  conceived  is  at  least  pleasurable,  and  in  which 
penalty  however  conceived  is  painful.  Pleasure  is 
thus  associated  with  good  conduct  and  pain  with  evil 
conduct.  They  thus  become  powerful  motives  in  the 
child's  desiring  and  willing.  We  need  have  no  mis- 
givings because  of  the  "  utilitarianism  "  or  "  hedon- 
ism "  of  this  law.  It  is  thoroughly  in  accord  with 
human  nature  at  this  period  of  its  development. 
"  Good  "  consequences  of  right-doing  must  be  pleas- 
urable to  the  child,  and  "  bad  "  consequences  must  be 
consequences  of  discomfort  in  the  case  of  wrong-do- 
ing. This  should  be  as  inevitable  with  the  child  as 
the  operation  of  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  in  the 
physical  world.2  Pleasure  and  pain  are  perfectly 
legitimate  motives  to  appeal  to  in  moral  habit-forma- 

1  Thorndike,  Principles  of  Teaching,  New  York,   1906,  p.  no. 

2  Cf.  Weigle,  The  Teacher  and  Pupil,  New  York,  1911,  p.  35. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  47 

tion  with  children.  The  more  disinterested  motives 
of  which  we  are  capable  belong  largely  to  a  later 
period  of  moral  and  spiritual  development. 

To  the  ordinary  moral  sanctions  must  be  added  the 
religious  sanctions  also.  Religion,  in  its  highest 
form,  affirms  our  relation  to  a  personal  God  who 
rules  in  righteousness,  and  to  an  immortal  life  in 
which  virtue  is  rewarded  and  vice  punished.  Opin- 
ions will  differ  as  to  the  nature  of  such  reward  and 
punishment,  but  Christian  believers  at  least  seem  to 
be  at  one  concerning  the  fundamental  fact  that 
"  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap," 
both  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  which  is  to  come. 
Now  belief  in  a  God  who  approves  righteousness 
and  disapproves  unrighteousness,  who  vouchsafes 
aid  to  the  good  and  punishes  the  evil,  has  proven, 
and  continues  to  prove,  a  powerful  factor  in  the  de- 
velopment of  character  and  conduct,  both  in  the  in- 
dividual and  in  the  race.  To  add  these  religious 
sanctions  to  the  ethical  sanctions  cannot  fail  to  in- 
fluence powerfully  the  moral  life. 

We  must  try  to  make  the  religious  sanctions  opera- 
tive as  motives  in  the  child's  life.  To  this  end  chil- 
dren should  be  taught  the  fatherhood  of  God  —  that 
they  are  children  of  the  Heavenly  Father,  who  loves 
them  and  cares  for  them.  This  fact  can  be  made  a 
powerful  motive  in  their  conduct.  God's  bountiful 
provision  for  their  physical  wants,  as  manifest  in 
nature,  can  be  easily  illustrated.     The  food  we  eat, 


48  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  water  we  drink,  the  clothes  we  wear,  the  air  we 
breathe,  the  fire  that  keeps  us  warm,  all  lend 
themselves  to  illustrate  the  providential  care  of  the 
Divine  Father.  Gradually  attention  should  be 
called  to  the  higher  spiritual  blessings  of  God's 
fatherly  love.  To  teach  children  in  this  manner  that 
they  are  the  children  of  God  is  to  secure  a  whole- 
some, natural  response  in  the  form  of  simple  trust, 
obedience,  gratitude,  love,  reverence,  and  prayer. 
When  the  child  knows  that  his  Heavenly  Father  is 
loving  and  kind,  it  is  much  easier  to  secure  rever- 
ential obedience.  And  when,  further,  the  child  is 
made  acquainted  with  this  will  as  a  righteous  will 
that  approves  the  good  and  disapproves  the  evil,  it 
will  be  easier  to  obtain  reverential  conformity  to  it, 
and  the  other  virtues  naturally  follow.  It  is  better 
to  appeal  to  him  from  this  point  of  view  than  from 
the  standpoint  of  abject  fear.  Too  often  has  the 
child  been  restrained  from  wrong  doing  by  present- 
ing unworthy  conceptions  of  God  as  a  stern  and  cruel 
lawgiver  and  executioner,  or  conceptions  of  equal  un- 
worthiness.  John  Fiske,  in  one  of  his  interesting 
and  suggestive  books,  tells  us  of  his  boyhood  con- 
ception of  God  as  a  great  big  man,  sitting  behind  a 
desk,  with  an  open  ledger,  keeping  account  of  his 
sins.  Unfortunately  this  is  representative  of  much 
of  the  teaching  that  has  been  indulged  in  with 
reference  to  the  nature  of  God  and  of  His  rela- 
tions to  us.  Instead  of  drawing  the  child  to  God, 
such  teaching  often  really  alienates  him.     God's  will 


AIM  AND  METHOD  49 

becomes  obnoxious  and  irksome  instead  of  attractive. 
Such  teaching  means  spiritually  flogging  the  child 
into  obedience  to  a  kind  of  arbitrary  will  rather  than 
winning  him  into  a  recognition  of  the  worth  or  good- 
ness of  a  loving  Father's  will.  Far  better  is  it  to 
lead  children  to  feel  that  God  is  a  kind  and  gracious 
Father,  who  loves  the  good,  who  is  interested  in  His 
children,  and  desires  that  they  should  be  good,  be- 
cause goodness  is  better  than  evil. 

After  all,  what  we  are  aiming  at  in  religious  train- 
ing is  to  secure  a  loving  obedience  to  God's  will  on 
the  part  of  the  child.  We  aim  to  do  this  because 
this  will  is  a  righteous  will.  And  the  question  is, 
how  can  such  loving  obedience  best  be  secured? 
The  most  natural  method  of  procedure  is  to  intro- 
duce the  child  to  God,  and  his  relations  to  Him, 
through  the  concept  of  Fatherhood.  By  experience 
the  child  understands  in  a  measure  what  fatherhood 
and  motherhood  mean.  In  the  large  majority  of 
cases  he  knows  that  it  means  loving  care,  protection, 
and  provision  for  wants.  He  knows,  too,  that  it 
means  acceptance  of  the  parents'  will  as  the  standard 
of  right  and  wrong.  It  means,  too,  on  the  part  of 
the  child,  an  association  of  worth  with  the  parents' 
personality.  This  being  so,  it  is  a  natural  and  easy 
ascent  from  such  experience  with  his  earthly  parents 
to  the  conception  of  and  belief  in  the  Heavenly  Par- 
ent's will  as  the  measure  of  duty,  and  to  the  Heavenly 
Father's  personality  as  representing  the  highest 
worth.     Then  obedience  to  God's  will  follows  quite 


5o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

naturally,  and  with  it,  or  following  closely  after  it, 
will  come  the  other  religious  virtues  as  well. 

If  we  thus  teach  the  child  the  Fatherhood  of  God, 
he  understands  from  his  experience  with  his  earthly 
parents  that  parental  love  involves  both  approval 
and  disapproval  of  his  conduct.  Love  involves  both, 
and  such  approbation  and  disapprobation  can  be 
utilised  as  powerful  motives  in  the  child's  moral  life. 
The  approval  and  disapproval  of  his  father  and 
mother  are  at  first  unquestionably  the  most  influential 
motives  in  his  daily  life.  President  Hall  does  not 
exaggerate  the  case  in  his  admirable  words:  — 

"  The  will,  purpose,  and  even  mood  of  small  children,  when 
alone,  are  fickle,  fluctuating,  contradictory.  Our  very  pres- 
ence imposes  one  general  law  on  them,  viz.,  that  of  keeping 
our  good  will  and  avoiding  displeasure.  As  the  plant  grows 
toward  the  light,  so  they  unfold  in  the  direction  of  our  wishes, 
felt  as  by  divination.  They  respect  all  you  smile  at,  even 
buffoonery ;  look  up  in  their  play  to  call  your  notice,  to  study 
the  lines  of  your  sympathy,  as  if  their  chief  vocation  was  to 
learn  your  desires.  Their  early  lies  are  often  saying  what 
they  think  will  please  us,  knowing  no  higher  touchstone  of 
truth.  If  we  are  careful  to  be  wisely  and  without  excess 
happy  and  affectionate  when  they  are  good,  and  saddened  and 
slightly  cooled  in  manifestations  of  love  if  they  do  wrong, 
the  power  of  association  in  the  normal,  eupeptic  child  will 
early  choose  right  as  surely  as  pleasure  increases  vitality.  If 
our  love  is  deep,  obedience  is  an  instinct  if  not  a  religion. 
The  child  learns  that  while  it  cannot  excite  our  fear,  resent- 
ment, or  admiration,  etc.,  it  can  act  on  our  love,  and  this 
should  be  the  first  sense  of  its  own  efficiency.  Thus,  too,  it 
first  learns  that  the  way  of  passion  and  impulse  is  not  the 


AIM  AND  METHOD  51 

only  rule  of  life,  and  that  something  is  gained  by  resisting 
them.  It  imitates  our  acts  long  before  it  can  understand  our 
words.  As  if  it  felt  its  significance,  and  dreaded  to  be  arrested 
in  some  lower  phase  of  its  development,  its  instinct  for  obedi- 
ence becomes  almost  a  passion.  As  the  vine  must  twine  or 
grovel,  so  the  child  comes  unconsciously  to  worship  idols, 
and  imitate  bad  patterns  and  examples  in  the  absence  of 
worthy  ones.  He  obeys  as  with  a  deep  sense  of  being  our 
chattel,  and  at  bottom,  admires  those  who  coerce  him,  if 
the  means  be  wisely  chosen.  The  authority  must,  of  course, 
be  ascendancy  over  heart  and  mind.  The  more  absolute 
such  authority  the  more  the  will  is  saved  from  caprice  and 
feels  the  power  of  steadiness.  Such  authority  excites  the 
unique,  unfathomable  sense  of  reverence,  which  measures  the 
capacity  for  will-culture,  and  is  the  strongest  and  soundest 
of  all  moral  motives.  It  is  also  the  most  comprehensive,  for 
it  is  first  felt  only  towards  persons,  and  personality  is  a 
bond,  enabling  any  number  of  complex  elements  to  act  or  be 
treated  as  a  whole,  as  everything  does  and  is  in  the  child's 
soul,  instead  of  in  isolation  and  detail.  In  the  feeling  of 
respect  culminating  in  worship  almost  all  educational  motives 
are  involved,  but  especially  those  which  alone  can  bring  the 
will  to  maturity;  and  happy  the  child  who  is  bound  by  the 
mysterious  and  constraining  sympathy  of  dependence,  by 
which,  if  unblighted  by  cynicism,  a  worthy  mentor  directs  and 
lifts  the  will.  This  unconscious  reflection  of  our  character 
and  wishes  is  the  diviner  side  of  childhood,  by  which  it  is 
quick  and  responsive  to  everything  in  its  moral  environ- 
ment." 1 

If  this  be  true,  as  undoubtedly  it  is  true,  then  why 
not  take  advantage  of  this  fact  in  our  efforts  to  secure 
the  child's  obedience  to  God's  will?     If  his  concep- 

1  Hall,  Youth,  Its  Education,  Regimen,  and  Hygiene,  New  York, 
1912,  pp.  332,  333. 


52  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

tion  of  God  is  that  of  a  loving  Heavenly  Father, 
then  this  Father's  approval  and  disapproval,  like  his 
earthly  father's  approval,  must  act  as  a  potent  motive 
in  the  child's  life. 

Professor  Leuba's  objection  to  introducing  the 
child  to  the  conception  of  God's  fatherhood  during 
the  first  fourteen  years  on  the  ground  that  experience 
sometimes  seems  to  contradict  his  belief  has  little 
force.  It  simply  presents  one  aspect  of  the  problem 
of  evil  which  the  individual  must  face  after  his  four- 
teenth year  as  well  as  before.  Not  only  the  child  but 
the  man  sometimes  finds  experience  apparently  con- 
tradicting his  belief  in  the  goodness  and  fatherhood 
of  God.  The  problem  is  not  so  large  or  so  serious 
and  formidable  to  the  child's  nature  as  to  the  man's. 
Shall  the  man,  therefore,  not  be  introduced  to  the  con- 
ception of  God  as  Father?  * 

A  difficult  problem  arises  when  we  try  to  represent 
the  divine  disapproval  in  the  form  of  actual  punish- 
ment. It  is  well  to  emphasise  the  fact  of  divine  dis- 
pleasure, but  just  how  to  represent  the  manifestations 
of  that  displeasure  is  not  an  easy  task.  With  very 
young  children  it  is  questionable  whether  it  is  wise 
to  refer  to  "  future  punishment  " —  punishment  after 
death.  It  is  better  to  deal  with  the  present  life.  We 
can  point  out  the  fact  that  God  punishes  through  the 
laws  of  his  world.  This  can  be  illustrated  very 
simply  by  showing  the  child  how,  if  we  violate  the 

1  Leuba,  Religious  Education,  February,  1917,  pp.  14-15. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  53 

laws  of  our  physical  being,  which  is  part  of  God's  uni- 
verse, we  suffer  and  are  punished.  Gradually  we 
can  teach  him  that  in  a  like  manner  we  suffer,  not 
only  here,  but  hereafter,  if  we  violate  the  laws  of  our 
spiritual  being.  In  dealing  with  this  subject,  how- 
ever, extreme  care  should  be  taken  not  to  give  the 
child  unworthy  conceptions  of  God.  Such  represen- 
tations cannot  develop  a  wholesome  religious  life  in 
the  child.  The  "  Thou  shalt  nots  "  are  necessary, 
but  the  consequences  of  failing  to  heed  them  should 
not  be  presented  to  the  child  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
lead  to  conceptions  of  God  that  make  a  develop- 
ment of  genuine  love  for  Him  impossible.  As 
Professor  Pratt  says :  "  It  is  sad  to  note,  moreover, 
that  the  image  of  an  angry  God,  which  is  sometimes 
held  up  before  children,  may  in  the  case  of  a  sensi- 
tive child  crush  out  or  delay  for  years  the  religious 
confidence  and  joy  which  is  the  child's  right."  * 

As  God's  will  relates  largely  to  man's  duty  to  him- 
self and  to  his  neighbour,  we  can  easily  see  how  the  re- 
ligious sanctions  can  be  utilised  in  training  the  child 
in  the  virtues  and  protecting  him  from  the  vices  grow- 
ing out  of  his  relations  to  himself  and  to  society.  In 
other  words,  we  can  bring  the  divine  approval  and 
disapproval  to  bear  on  our  efforts  to  establish  chil- 
dren in  the  bodily,  intellectual,  social,  political,  and 
aesthetic  virtues,  and  to  guard  them  against  the  cor- 
responding vices.  God's  will  is  on  the  side  of  right- 
1  Pratt,  Psychology  of  Religious  Belief,  New  York,  191 6,  p.  227. 


54  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

eousness.  It  approves  and  rewards  virtue,  and  dis- 
approves and  punishes  vice.  When  the  child  is  led 
to  understand  this,  character  building  becomes  much 
more  effective. 

Another  psychical  fact  that  must  be  reckoned  with 
in  habit-formation  is  interest.  The  child  must  be  in- 
terested in  what  we  want  him  to  will  or  to  do  if  we 
are  to  secure  genuine  results.  The  moral  situations 
to  be  placed  before  him  must  interest  him,  if  moral 
and  spiritual  training  is  to  advance.  Voluntary  imi- 
tation will  not  make  much  headway  unless  attention 
is  secured.  The  example,  whether  of  deed  or  of 
person,  must  arrest  the  attention  of  the  child,  and  the 
way  to  secure  such  attention  is  through  interest.  Be- 
yond the  mere  reflex  imitation  of  early  childhood  a 
good  act  or  a  bad  act,  a  saint  or  a  sinner,  will  affect 
the  child  neither  for  good  nor  for  evil  unless  in  some 
way  the  child's  interest  is  aroused.  In  all  instruction 
we  succeed  or  fail  as  we  succeed  or  fail  in  interesting 
the  pupil.  This  is  in  accord  with  the  real  nature  of 
the  child.  In  elementary  moral  instruction  we  have 
no  exception  to  the  rule.  Therefore  it  is  well  for 
parent  and  teacher  to  conform  to  Nature  in  this  re- 
spect if  they  would  realise  the  best  results.  Ac- 
quaintance with  the  psychology  of  interest  in  its 
relation  to  education  is  exceedingly  desirable  in  all 
systematic  effort  to  establish  the  child  in  right  habits 
of  will  and  right  forms  of  conduct. 

With  this  brief  study  of  the  subject  of  habit-forma- 


AIM  AND  METHOD  55 

tion,  our  next  business  is  to  consider  a  method  of 
training  children  in  the  virtues  which  is  in  accord 
with  the  psychical  facts  and  principles  mentioned 
above.  Such  a  method  is  presented  in  the  next  chap- 
ter. It  should  be  remembered  that  the  authors  do 
not  regard  this  as  the  only  method  of  habit-forma- 
tion, but  they  do  esteem  it  to  be  an  exceedingly  ef- 
fective one. 


And  he  taught  them  many  things  in  parables. 

—  Mark  iv,  2. 

And  with  many  such  parables  spake  he  the  word  unto  them, 
as  they  were  able  to  hear  it;  and  without  a  parable 
spake  he  not  unto  them. 

—  Mark  iv,  33,  34. 

Aside  from  purely  unconscious  imitation  the  story  is  almost 
the  only  pedagogical  means  used  by  primitive  men,  and 
as  we  trace  the  development  of  human  culture,  we  find 
that  it  does  not  lose  its  place  in  the  higher  stage. 

—  Professor  Edward  Porter  St.  John. 

Wherever,  in  a  word,  there  has  been  religion  to  teach,  tra- 
dition and  custom  to  perpetuate,  history  to  record,  .  .  . 
there  will  be  found  the  story-teller  —  more  or  less  serious 
and  skilled,  more  or  less  a  creative  artist;  but  usually 
with  a  sense  of  a  serious  mission  to  carry  abroad  what 
he  has  learned  as  the  truth. 

—  E.  N.  and  G.  E.  Partridge. 

Let  me  tell  the  stories  and  I  care  not  who  writes  the  text- 
books. 

—  President  G.  Stanley  Hall. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   AIM   AND   METHOD   OF    RELIGIOUS   TRAINING 

(Continued) 

Of  the  various  methods  employed  in  our  efforts  to 
form  good  habits  in  the  child,  the  story-method  is  one 
of  the  most  successful.  It  is  in  thorough  conformity 
with  the  psychology  of  habit-formation  explained 
above.  In  the  first  place  the  story  as  a  story  in- 
terests the  boy  and  girl  who  are  thus  early  brought 
into  sympathy  with  our  aim.  The  history  of  story- 
telling proves  this.  Children  are  eager  for  stories. 
Nothing  enchants  them  more.  Indeed,  the  story  has 
an  interest  for  every  one  at  some  period  of  his  career. 
Its  empire  extends  to  the  confines  of  the  race.  Its 
throne  is  established  especially  in  the  imagination  and 
heart  of  childhood,  whether  of  the  childhood  of  the 
individual  or  the  childhood  of  the  race.  Anything  so 
intensely  human,  so  essentially  the  possession  of  the 
race,  must  find  its  reason  for  existence  deep  seated  in 
the  human  soul.  Its  psychology  reveals  something 
more  than  a  mere  play  or  fancy  or  a  desire  to  be  en- 
tertained. Stories,  in  their  fundamental  aspects,  are 
the  products  of  intense  human  desires,  fears,  hopes, 
and  beliefs.  In  the  earlier  history  of  man  they  were 
undoubtedly  the  outgrowth  of  man's  struggle  with  na- 

57 


58  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

ture  and  with  supposed  unseen  powers.  Stones 
represent  the  fears,  desires,  and  hopes  of  this  strug- 
gle. Giants,  fairies,  etc.,  are  the  personification  of 
these  fears,  desires,  and  hopes.  These  beings,  re- 
vealed by  fancy  and  the  imagination,  conquer  or  are 
to  conquer  others,  who  represent  opposing  forces. 
Stories  are  born  of  religious  and  ethical  moods,  and 
this  is  why  they  are  so  intensely  human  in  their  char- 
acter. 

The  story  has  for  ages  proved  itself  a  most  ef- 
fective educational  means.  Indeed,  it  constituted  one 
of  the  earliest  means  of  education.  Priests, 
prophets,  poets,  singers,  historians  made  use  of  it. 
The  Hindoo  Jatakas,  the  Hebrew  tales,  the  Greek 
myths  and  fables,  the  Christian  parables,  the  med- 
iaeval ballads  and  legends,  all  testify  to  the  fact  that 
the  story  in  some  form  has  been  a  favourite  method 
of  communicating  knowledge  and  belief.  This  is 
doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  such  a  very  human 
thing.  By  virtue  of  its  content  it  appeals  to  the  hu- 
manity in  us.  Our  imagination  and  sympathies  are 
awakened,  and  together  they  envisage  the  story  con- 
tent with  reality.  They  clothe  the  character  with 
flesh  and  blood.  In  most  instances  the  reader  or 
hearer  of  the  story  identifies  himself  with  the  hero  or 
heroine  of  the  tale.  In  short,  the  story  secures  our 
interest;  and  what  we  are  interested  in,  we  attend  to; 
and  what  we  attend  to,  as  a  rule,  we  remember;  and 
what  we  remember,  we  think  about;  and  all  this  af- 
fects character  and  conduct. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  59 

Now,  when  the  story  is  a  moral  or  religious  story, 
when  it  is  concerned  with  right  or  wrong  doing,  when 
consequences  of  pleasure  or  of  pain  follow  inevitably 
upon  conduct,  with  the  almost  instinctive  love  of  the 
child  for  the  story  we  easily  direct  his  attention  to  the 
moral  situation  embodied,  and  the  moral  lesson  in- 
volved.    By  the  story  method  more  or  less  dramatic 
situations,  involving  a  choice  of  right  or  wrong  on  the 
part  of  the  "  hero  "  or  "  heroine,"  are  placed  before 
the  child.     In  the  case  of  the  right  choice,  reward 
follows.     In  the  case  of  the  wrong  choice,  penalty 
follows.     By  a  peculiarly  subtle  law  of  sympathy  the 
child  identifies  himself  often  with  the  subject  of  the 
story.     He  "  puts  himself  in  his  shoes,"  and  thus  in  a 
sense  he  feels  the  reward  or  feels  the  penalty.     Be- 
cause of  this,  these  rewards  and  penalties  become 
operative  in  his  own  conduct,  when  confronted  by 
similar  situations  in  actual  life.     He  knows  that  pain 
follows  "  bad  "  conduct,  and  that  pleasure  follows 
"  good  "  conduct,  and  acts  accordingly.     He  thus 
learns  to  evaluate  conduct.     He  gradually  acquaints 
himself  with  those  acts  that  are  deemed  "  right,"  or 
have  "  worth,"  and  with  those  acts  that  are  regarded 
as  "  wrong  "  and  lack  "  worth."     He  is  thus  trained 
in  moral  feeling  and  judgment  and  also  in  moral  will- 
ing.    The  story  method  puts  together  the  things  we 
want  together,  and  keeps  apart  the  things  we  want 
apart;  and  it  does  this  often  much  better  than  life 
itself. 

Again,  the  story  method  is  in  thorough  harmony 


6o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

with  the  psychology  of  imitation  and  example  as  it  re- 
lates to  habit-formation.  Joubert  says:  "  Children 
have  more  need  of  models  than  of  critics."  In  the 
story  models  are  provided  —  models  envisaged  with 
reality,  and  invested  with  life  —  and  there  is  no  ques- 
tion about  the  influence  that  these  characters  of  fiction 
and  biography  exert  upon  the  child-mind.  In  certain 
respects  the  moral  and  religious  story  is  a  more 
powerful  influence  with  the  child  than  an  actual  living 
example.  The  sanctions  of  morality  and  religion,  the 
rewards  and  penalties,  the  mainsprings  of  conduct, 
must  be  apparent  and  more  or  less  immediate  to  the 
child  if  the  moral  and  religious  lesson  is  to  be  effect- 
ive. In  actual  life  these  are  not  always  obvious,  and 
often  seem  far  removed  in  point  of  time;  whereas 
in  the  story  punishment  is  swift  and  reward  imme- 
diate, so  that  the  child  soon  perceives  what  the  results 
of  good  and  bad  conduct  are. 

Here  again  we  find  feeling  coming  to  our  aid. 
There  is  not  merely  bare  imitation  of  example,  but  we 
find  when  the  imitated  act  is  performed  there  is  at- 
tendant feeling  which  henceforth  may  act  as  motive. 

11  All  imitation,  all  imitation  at  any  rate  where  the  imitator 
is  human,  is,  in  fact,  something  of  a  discovery.  It  is  not  the 
mechanical  work  of  a  copyist.  For  when  imitation  passes 
into  act,  there  comes  the  experience  of  what  it  feels  like  to  do 
the  act.  And  in  the  light  of  this  new  experience,  the  example 
is  henceforth  regarded  with  new  and  more  penetrating  eyes. 
There  is  imputed  to  it  a  similar  inward  experience,  and  thus 
the  world  of  motive  begins  to  be  revealed  to  conjecture  and 
interpretation.     The  result  follows.     Imitation  deepens.     It 


AIM  AND  METHOD  61 

does  not  stop  at  the  actions  that  are  overt  and  visible.  It 
strives  to  reproduce  what  it  divines  to  be  the  spirit  in  which 
the  imitated  acts  are  done.  So  that  the  '  hero,'  be  he  the 
hero  of  romance  or  only  the  common-clay  hero  of  actual 
life,  begins  to  live  a  second  life  not  merely  in  the  acts  but 
in  the  soul  of  his  '  worshipper.' 

"  This  marks  an  immense  onward  step.  It  gives  imitation 
a  vastly  wider  range.  For  it  enables  it  to  profit  by  many 
an  example  whose  value  lies  not  in  the  precise  manner  of 
action  but  in  the  spirit  in  which  the  action  is  done.  We  see 
this  in  the  perennial  influence  of  examples  drawn  from  ages 
far  remote.  We  have  seen  already  that  it  is  not  those  who 
are  nearest  in  circumstances  and  externals  that  most  power- 
fully fasten  upon  the  imaginations  of  the  young.  Rather  it 
is  the  Homeric  hero,  the  viking,  the  crusader,  the  knight- 
errant,  the  voyager,  the  Indian  chief,  the  castaway.  And 
though  these,  and  many  another,  have  their  first  tribute  in 
the  '  make-believe  '  that  needs  must  reproduce  what  it  ad- 
mires, the  time  comes  round  —  one  may  hope  it  does  not  come 
too  soon  —  when  this  literal  imitation  begins  to  be  childish 
and  absurd.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  the  examples  need 
forthwith  be  discarded.  All  that  need  happen  is  that  now 
it  is  the  spirit  they  embody  that  begins  to  work  in  the  imitator 
—  the  spirit  of  daring,  fidelity,  endurance,  adventure,  valour. 
In  a  word,  the  cherished  examples  are  neither  discarded  nor 
reproduced  in  the  letter:  they  are  imitated  in  the  spirit."1 

This,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  what  happens  later  in 
the  child's  life. 

The  indirect  or  story  method,  then,  as  compared 
with  the  more  formal  didactic  method  of  explanation 
and  exhortation  in  moral  training,  is  by  far  the  more 

1  MacCunn,  The  Making  of  Character,  New  York,  19 10,  pp.  128- 
29. 


62  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

effective.     It  is  in  harmony  with  a  sound  psychology 
and  pedagogy. 

Objection  is  sometimes  urged  against  the  use  of 
stories,  especially  of  fairy  tales,  by  sophisticated  per- 
sons who  would  reduce  all  life  to  the  terms  of  a  scien- 
tific prose  translation,  and  are  afraid  of  the  presenta- 
tion of  truth  in  any  other  manner  than  in  the  lan- 
guage of  fact.  Some  parents  fear  that  children  may 
draw  from  these  fanciful  tales  inferences  about  the 
world  which  must  be  unlearned,  and  that  the  process 
of  unlearning  may  lead  to  a  sceptical  attitude  toward 
all  instruction.  The  child  finds  out  that  the  fairy 
stories  are  not  true,  and  infers  that  other  teaching  is 
untrue  also.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  the  normal 
child  passes  easily  out  of  the  reading  of  imaginative 
fiction  into  the  reading  of  history  without  any  process 
of  disillusion.  He  perceives  the  difference.  We  do 
do  not  need  to  explain  it  to  him.  He  is  no  more 
likely  to  reproach  us  for  telling  him  about  giants  and 
dragons  than  for  dressing  him  in  the  proper  frocks  of 
childhood.  He  instinctively  puts  all  these  things 
where  they  belong.  Meanwhile,  the  fairies  are  as 
appropriate  to  his  youth  as  the  frocks.  He  comes  on 
with  widened  interest,  having  taken  into  his  pos- 
session that  sense  of  the  mystery  of  the  world  which 
right  education  does  but  increase.  He  gets  out  of 
his  reading  an  assurance  of  the  eventual  triumph  of 
the  good,  which  he  may  verify  afterward  in  history, 
and  which  he  needs  for  the  development  of  his  char- 
acter. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  63 

There  is  a  psychology  governing  the  order  of  the 
selection  of  the  stories  to  be  used.  The  psycho- 
logical order  is  practically  the  historical  one.  A  re- 
gard for  it  would  begin  with  the  myth  and  fairy  tale, 
because  their  people  are  most  nearly  like  children 
themselves.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  fairy  tale. 
And  the  fact  that  the  child  is  greatly  interested  in  ani- 
mals makes  the  fable  effective,  although  here  we  find 
the  moral  stated,  which  is  not  so  effective  as  when  the 
child  is  permitted  to  infer  it  himself.  As  the  child 
grows  older  and  deals  more  and  more  with  the  real 
than  with  the  fictitious,  the  legend,  which  has  an  ele- 
ment of  both,  paves  the  way  for  a  transition  from  the 
myth,  fairy  tale,  and  fable  to  stories  of  real  life.  In 
the  stories  of  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights,  in  the  ad- 
ventures of  Robin  Hood,  in  the  splendid  legends  of 
the  heroes,  the  fairy  tales  merge  into  actual  life. 
The  child  learns  the  fineness  of  courtesy,  the  combina- 
tion of  tenderness  with  strength,  the  protection  of 
the  weak,  the  scorn  of  all  things  base  and  mean,  which 
are  exemplified  in  the  exploits  of  men  in  armour.  In 
all  this  he  is  living  the  long  past  over  again,  and  is 
coming  on  over  the  road  of  progress  along  which  the 
race  has  gone  before  him.  He  is  filling  in  the  his- 
toric background  of  human  life.  After  the  legend 
comes  a  vital  interest  in  heroes  and  heroines,  as  life 
actually  presents  them,  and  moral  and  religious  edu- 
cation will  meet  this  interest  with  biographical  and 
historical  literature. 

Furthermore,  the  indirect  method  demands  that 


64  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  child  be  allowed  to  do  his  own  moralising. 
There  are  those  who  combine  the  direct  with  the  in- 
direct method.  This  is  a  mistake.  To  tell  the  story, 
and  then  to  apply  it  in  the  form  of  preaching  or  ex- 
hortation, is  not  to  be  commended.  The  child  is 
capable  of  doing  his  own  moralising,  and  this  is  much 
more  effective  than  if  the  parent  or  teacher  does  it  for 
him.  It  is,  of  course,  vitally  important  that  the  child 
should  grasp  the  moral  and  spiritual  import  of  the 
story.  If  he  fails  to  do  so  at  first,  tactful  question- 
ing will  bring  the  moral  lesson  out;  but,  by  all  means, 
avoid  "  preaching."  As  Professor  St.  John  says: 
"  If  a  good  story  is  well  told,  moralising  is  not  neces- 
sary; but  that  is  not  all.  It  has  been  clearly  demon- 
strated that  it  weakens  the  moral  influence.  Psy- 
chologists have  formulated  the  law  that  the  power  of 
normal  suggestion  varies  inversely  with  the  extent  to 
which  its  purpose  is  definitely  revealed.  The  mother 
who  says  to  a  child,  '  Why  don't  you  go  out  on  the 
lawn  and  see  how  many  dandelions  you  can  pick?  '  is 
likely  to  secure  a  period  of  privacy;  but  if  she  adds, 
*  so  that  I  can  be  alone  for  a  little  while,'  the  result 
will  not  be  the  same.  Children  resent  the  old-fash- 
ioned Sunday  School  stories  with  their  too  obvious 
moral  purpose,  but  are  strongly  influenced  by  trans- 
scripts  of  life  in  which  the  same  duties  are  clearly  im- 
plied, but  not  explicitly  stated.  So  adults  are  often 
more  strongly  influenced  by  a  play  like  The  Servant  in 
the  House  than  by  many  sermons."  1 

1  St.  John,  Stories  and  Story -telling,  Boston,  1910,  p.  33. 


AIM  AND  METHOD  6s 

In  the  next  place,  if  morality  and  religion  are  to 
be  taught  in  this  manner,  it  necessitates  a  body  of 
good  literature,  carefully  graded  in  vocabulary,  in- 
terest, and  moral  and  religious  content.  This  litera- 
ture, so  far  as  possible,  should  be  selected  from  the 
Bible,  from  the  best  Christian  story  literature,  and 
from  the  best  ancient  and  modern  lore  of  all  nations. 
We  are  thus  likely  to  secure  not  only  the  best  litera- 
ture, but  also  to  strike  the  fundamentally  moral  and 
human.  This  literature  should  be  compiled  in  the 
form  of  moral  and  religious  readers,  similar  to  the 
literary,  historical,  nature,  and  other  readers  of  our 
schools.  Thus  we  could  train  the  child  in  the  virtues 
by  means  of  good  literature  adapted  in  every  way  to 
his  stage  of  development. 

It  should  be  stated  again  that  we  are  not  to  teach 
ethics  and  theology.  We  are  to  establish  the  child 
in  the  virtues.  We  are  to  build  Christian  character, 
and  the  best  way  in  which  to  do  this  is  by  systemati- 
cally placing  before  him  moral  and  spiritual  situations 
as  embodied  in  story.  Such  situations,  thus  pre- 
sented, dealing  with  the  virtues  and  vices  peculiar  to 
each  period  of  the  child's  unfolding,  result  in  whole- 
some reactions  which,  through  frequent  repetition, 
lead  the  child  to  develop  habits  of  will  and  forms  of 
conduct  that  are  spiritually  worthy.  In  other  words, 
they  tend  to  establish  him  in  those  virtues  which  con- 
stitute the  foundations  of  Christian  character. 

Finally,  the  parent  or  teacher  herself  should  be  a 
good  story-teller.     The  story  of  the  reader  should 


66  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

often  be  supplemented  by  a  similar  story  related  by 
the  parent  or  teacher.  In  order  that  this  may  be  ef- 
fectively done,  it  is  well  to  cultivate  the  art  of  story- 
telling, and  to  have  a  fund  of  stories  at  one's  com- 
mand. Parents  and  teachers  should  familiarise 
themselves  with  the  fundamentals  of  story-telling, 
and  practice  will  gradually  tend  to  perfect  them  in  the 
art.  Perseverance  will  conquer  the  difficulties,  and 
victory  means  much.  It  adds  to  one's  power  over  the 
child.  The  child  is  eager  to  hear,  and  responds 
with  a  receptive  mind  and  heart.  Such  an  audience 
should  be  an  inspiration,  and  should  furnish  an  in- 
centive to  make  ourselves  proficient  in  this  interesting 
and  potent  art.  To  have  the  story  of  the  reader  sup- 
plemented by  the  well-told  story  of  parent  or  teacher 
will  make  the  moral  and  religious  lesson  doubly  ef- 
fective. 

Writers  on  the  art  of  story-telling  usually  empha- 
sise several  marked  characteristics  of  the  kind  of 
story  that  appeals  to  children.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant is  action.  There  must  be  "  something 
doing  "  in  the  story.  Children  care  little  for  de- 
scription. It  is  narration  that  they  like,  narration 
of  events,  of  something  that  has  happened.  And 
this  action  must  be  sustained  action,  not  broken  too 
much  by  unimportant  details.  "  A  story  should  move 
with  directness  and  force,  like  an  arrow  to  its  mark !  " 
What  Sara  Cone  Bryant  calls  "  action  in  close  se- 
quence "  is  a  prime  requisite  in  children's  stories. 
Excursions  or  deviations  from  the  main  trend  of  the 


AIM  AND  METHOD  67 

story  are  confusing  to  the  child,  and  result,  as  a  rule, 
in  a  lack  of  interest.  Directness  or  sustained  action 
— "  action  in  close  sequence,"  is  what  the  child  wants 
and  insists  on  if  his  interest  is  not  to  flag.  This 
makes  for  that  unity  in  the  story  which  the  child-mind 
imperatively  demands,  and  which  is  itself  a  marked 
characteristic  of  a  good  story.  Such  directness 
and  unity  are  especially  desirable  in  the  moral  story 
where  action  is  supposed  to  lead  to  penalty  or  re- 
ward. 

Simplicity  of  language  and  imagery  is  another 
prime  characteristic  of  children's  stories.  Simple 
words  and  familiar  images  arrest  the  child's  mind. 
Unfamiliar  words  and  images  prove  a  burden.  He 
must  not  be  taxed  with  these  if  he  is  to  be  able  to 
follow  the  story.  It  must  appeal  to  him  in  words 
and  pictures  that  he  can  understand,  in  images  that 
he  can  readily  construct.  The  penalty  of  violating 
this  rule  will  be  confusion  and  a  loss  of  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  child,  and  the  parent's  or  teacher's  aim 
will  be  defeated. 

But  familiar  as  the  images  should  be  that  char- 
acterise the  story,  they  must  nevertheless  be  images 
that  awaken  the  child's  sense  of  wonder.  That  is, 
they  must  be  invested  with  a  kind  of  mystery.  It  is 
this  element  that  gives  so  much  charm  to  the  story 
and  quickens  his  imagination.  Mystery  has  a  fasci- 
nation for  the  human  mind,  and  it  is  a  veritable  en- 
chantress to  the  child.  The  parent  or  teacher  who 
is  to  be  a  successful  story-teller  should  not,  in  her 


68  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

efforts  to  use  familiar  images,  overlook  this  impor- 
tant factor. 

The  following  books  on  stories,  and  how  to  tell 
them,  may  be  consulted  by  parent  and  teacher  to  ad- 
vantage :  — 

Bryant,  S.  C,  How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Children,  Houghton 
Mifflin  Co.,  Boston,  1905. 

Buckland,  A.,  The  Use  of  Stories  in  the  Kindergarten,  E. 
Steiger  &  Co.,  New  York,  1884. 

Bunce,  J.  T.,  Fairy  Tales:  Their  Origin  and  Meaning, 
Macmillan  &  Co.,  London,  1878. 

Cox,  Sir  G.  W.,  The  Mythology  of  the  Aryan  Nations, 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  London,  1870. 

Dawson,  G.  E.,  The  Child  and  His  Religion,  Chapter  III, 
The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  1909. 

Hartland,  E.  S.,  The  Science  of  Fairy  Tales,  Walter 
Scott,  London,  1891. 

Lyman,  E.,  Story-telling:  What  to  Tell  and  How  to  Tell 
It,  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago,  1910. 

Moulton,  R.  G.,  The  Art  of  Telling  Bible  Stories,  Pro- 
ceedings of  Second  Annual  Convention  of  the  Religious  Edu- 
cation Association,  page  26,  Chicago,  1904. 

Partridge,  E.  N.  and  G.  E.,  Story-telling  in  School  and 
Home,  Sturgis  &  Walton,  New  York,  1912. 

St.  John,  E.  P.,  Stories  and  Story-telling  in  Moral  and 
Religious  Education,  The  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston,  19 10. 

Wiltse,  S.,  The  Place  of  the  Story  in  Early  Education, 
Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston,  1892. 

Wyche,  R.  T.,  Some  Great  Stories  and  How  to  Tell 
Them,  Newson  &  Co.,  New  York,  19 10. 

For  information  on  where  to  find  stories  consult: 
Athearn,  W.  S.,  The  Church  School,  The  Pilgrim  Press, 
Boston,  1 914  (Classified  Bibliographies). 


AIM  AND  METHOD  69 

Cousens,  P.  W.,  One  Thousand  Books  for  Children,  A.  C. 
McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago,  191 1. 

Mutch,  W.  J.,  Graded  Bible  Stories,  Christian  Nurture, 
Ripon,  Wisconsin,  191 4. 

New  York  Public  Library,  Heroism,  a  Reading  List  for 
Boys  and  Girls,  19 1 4. 

St.  John,  E.  P.,  Stories  and  Story-telling  in  Moral  and 
Religious  Education,  Chapter  XIII,  The  Pilgrim  Press,  Bos- 
ton, 1 9 10. 


And  when  they  came  near  unto  the  altar,  they  washed;  as 
the  Lord  commanded  Moses. 

—  Exodus  xl,  32. 

Whether  therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God. 

—  /  Corinthians  x,  31. 

Know  ye  not  that  they  that  run  in  a  race  run  all,  but  one 
receiveth  the  prize?  Even  so  run,  that  ye  may  attain. 
And  every  man  that  striveth  in  the  games  exerciseth 
self-control  in  all  things.  Now  they  do  it  to  receive  a 
corruptible  crown ;  but  we  an  incorruptible. 

—  /  Corinthians  ix,  24,  25. 

Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness. 

—  John  Wesley. 

Failure  in  this  need  of  sleep  strikes  at  the  very  root  of  all 
our  well-being  —  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral. 

—  Dr.  C.  W.  Saleeby. 

You  will  never  live  to  my  age  unless  you  keep  yourself  in 
breath  with  exercise. 

—  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 

O  friends,  be  men,  and  let  your  hearts  be  strong. 

—  Homer. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    BODILY    LIFE 

The  entire  natural  life  of  man  is  subject  to  moral 
law.  It  must  be  idealised.  "  Whether  therefore 
ye  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God."  Moral  and  religious  education  must 
aim  at  this  goal.  The  bodily  life  is,  of  course,  part 
of  the  natural  life.  Therefore,  it  must  be  moralised 
or  idealised.  Let  us,  then,  consider  carefully  what 
this  means. 

All  human  efficiency  is  conditioned  on  bodily  ef- 
ficiency. This  is  a  dictum  of  modern  science.  Now 
since  the  bodily  life  is  subject  to  moral  law,  our  prime 
duty  in  this  field  of  human  functioning  is  so  to  de- 
velop the  body  as  to  secure  the  highest  possible  ef- 
ficiency, and  to  avoid  everything  that  makes  against 
its  well-being.  In  other  words,  we  ought  to  pre- 
serve and  promote  the  health  and  strength  of  the 
body,  and  to  guard  it  against  everything  that  tends 
to  weaken  and  destroy  it.  This  obligates  us  to  ac- 
quaint ourselves  with  the  essential  conditions  of 
bodily  welfare,  and  to  conform  to  them.  Accord- 
ing to  hygiene,  the  welfare  of  the  bodily  organism  is 
dependent  on  cleanliness  of  person,  clothes,  and  sur- 
roundings; on  the  quantity,  quality,  and  digestion  of 

7i 


72  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

our  food,  and  on  the  regularity  of  our  eating;  on  the 
purity  of  the  water  we  drink,  as  well  as  on  the  man- 
ner of  our  drinking;  on  the  air  we  breathe,  its 
temperature,  moisture,  freedom  from  bacteria,  as 
well  as  on  our  methods  of  breathing;  on  the  suf- 
ficiency and  soundness  of  our  sleep;  on  the  amount 
and  kind  of  exercise  we  take;  and  on  either  absti- 
nence or  temperance  with  reference  to  indulgence  in 
alcoholic  stimulants,  narcotics,  sexual  passions,  etc. 
This  being  so,  it  is  important  that  the  child  should 
apprehend  these  essentials,  not  only  as  natural  con- 
ditions of  bodily  welfare,  but  also  as  involving  du- 
ties imposed  on  him  by  his  moral  and  religious  na- 
ture. To  remain  in  wilful  ignorance  concerning 
the  conditions  of  bodily  well-being,  and  to  fail  wil- 
fully to  conform  to  them,  is  to  be  guilty  of  gross 
moral  and  spiritual  neglect,  and  of  positive  evil. 

It  is  evident  that  many  of  the  duties  pertaining  to 
the  bodily  life  come  early  in  the  individual's  career. 
Indeed,  they  antedate  the  period  when  the  child  first 
enters  upon  his  school  life.  It  is,  therefore,  obliga- 
tory upon  the  parent,  or  upon  those  who  have  the 
supervision  of  the  child  in  these  early  years,  to  make 
him  acquainted  with  these  duties,  and  to  teach  him 
to  perform  them.  In  these  early  years  the  direct 
method  may  not  only  be  necessary,  but  in  all  proba- 
bility will  prove  the  more  efficient.  However,  after 
the  sixth  year  the  indirect  method  is  without  doubt 
primarily  the  method  to  be  used. 

In  moral  and  religious  instruction  in  this  sphere  of 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  73 

human  nature  we  seek  to  acquaint  the  child  with  vir- 
tues and  vices  that  pertain  to  the  life  of  the  body, 
and  also  to  establish  him  in  those  habits  of  will  and 
forms  of  conduct  that  make  for  its  highest  well-being. 
One  of  the  natural  conditions  of  a  healthy  body  is 
cleanliness.  In  view  of  the  germ  theory  of  dis- 
ease the  importance  of  this  condition  needs  to  be 
fully  emphasised.  Dangerous  microbes  exist  in 
dirt  which  constantly  menace  the  health.  They  in- 
fest the  dust  that  accumulates  under  the  finger  nails, 
or  on  the  surface  of  the  body,  especially  on  the 
hands  and  face,  and  are  thus  often  introduced  into 
the  system  by  being  conveyed  to  the  mouth,  or  to 
cuts  and  scratches.  This  often  results  in  disease, 
or  in  painful  and  dangerous  inflammations.  Hence 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  body  clean  by  frequent 
bathing.  Dangerous  microbes  exist  also  in  unclean 
clothing  and  are  transferred  to  the  body.  Hence  it 
is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  our  clothes  be 
clean  or  not.     Here  cleanliness  becomes  a  necessity. 

Again,  harmful  microbes  lurk  in  the  food  which 
accumulates  between  and  in  the  cavities  of  our  teeth. 
When  it  is  allowed  to  remain  there,  it  soon  turns  into 
a  workhouse  for  microbes,  a  breeding  place  of 
disease.  It  is  surprising  how  many  serious  dis- 
eases are  the  result  of  neglect  or  improper  care  of 
the  teeth.  Hence  the  necessity  of  keeping  them  in  a 
healthy  condition  by  frequent  cleansing  and  proper 
dentistry. 

Furthermore,  the  function  of  the  skin  is  to  elimi- 


74  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

nate  waste  products,  and  particularly  to  control  the 
heat  losses  of  the  system.  In  order  to  function  nor- 
mally it  must  be  kept  in  a  healthy  condition.  The 
pores  must  be  kept  open  by  frequent  removal  from 
the  surface  of  the  body  of  the  products  they  emit. 
This,  of  course,  is  to  be  accomplished  by  frequent 
bathing,  and  by  rubbing  the  body  thoroughly  with  a 
rough  towel.  Bodily  cleanliness  becomes  an  essen- 
tial if  the  body  is  to  maintain  efficiently  its  functions 
and  promote  its  own  well-being. 

Now,  since  personal  cleanliness  in  all  of  these 
forms  is  an  essential  natural  condition  of  bodily 
health  and  strength,  and  since  we  are  under  moral 
obligation  to  preserve  and  promote  the  efficiency  of 
the  body,  such  cleanliness  is  a  matter  of  moral  obliga- 
tion also.  We  are  morally  bound  to  practice  it  as  a 
virtue.  Personal  cleanliness  ought  to  be  made  a  re- 
quirement on  the  part  of  every  child.  Here  compul- 
sion becomes  a  virtue.  The  hygienic,  aesthetic, 
moral  and  religious  sanctions  of  personal  cleanliness 
ought  to  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  child.  The  duty 
of  maintaining  the  efficiency  of  the  body  by  observing 
the  natural  conditions  of  its  well-being  can  be  pre- 
sented as  a  matter  of  ethical  and  religious  obliga- 
tion, and  as  a  matter  of  decency  and  self-respect,  and 
a  serious  effort  to  establish  the  child  in  habits  of  per- 
sonal cleanliness  can  be  made.  And  here,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  other  virtues,  systematic  training  is  neces- 
sary. 

Prudence  and  self-control  in  relation  to  the  bodily 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  75 

life  are  also  virtues  which  need  to  be  dealt  with  in 
elementary  moral  training.  They  relate  chiefly  to 
regulation  of  the  bodily  appetites  —  the  appetites  of 
food,  drink,  sleep,  and  sex.  The  appetite  for  food 
is,  of  course,  fundamental.  By  it  the  body  is  sus- 
tained. But  how  it  is  to  be  sustained,  whether  at  a 
high  point  of  efficiency  or  not,  depends  largely  upon 
what  we  eat,  how  much  we  eat,  and  how  we  eat. 
Modern  science  shows  this  to  be  true  in  a  very  impor- 
tant sense.  Our  bodily  and  mental  efficiency  de- 
pends in  a  large  measure  upon  the  quality,  quantity, 
and  digestion  of  our  food.  Physiological  chemistry 
shows  us  that  there  are  food  values.  Certain  foods 
are  better  adapted  to  promote  the  well-being  of  the 
body  than  others;  so  that  it  is  not  a  matter  of  hy- 
gienic indifference,  and  therefore  not  a  matter  of 
moral  indifference,  what  we  eat.  In  a  very  impor- 
tant sense  the  German  maxim  is  true:  "  Mann  ist 
was  Mann  isst," — "  Man  is  what  he  eats."  The 
same  thing  is  true  in  regard  to  quantity  of  food. 
According  to  recent  scientific  investigations  the  aver- 
age person  eats  too  much.  The  result  is  that  waste 
products  accumulate  in  the  system.  They  are  in  a 
state  of  fermentation,  and  thus  poison  the  body,  im- 
pairing and  weakening  it.  The  organs  of  nutrition 
are  overtaxed,  and  the  organs  whose  function  it  is  to 
eliminate  by-products  are  also  unequal  to  the  burden 
imposed  upon  them.  Thus  the  body  suffers  and, 
with  it,  the  mind  also;  so  that  to  eat  too  much  is  not 
only  an  hygienic  evil,  but  a  moral  evil  as  well.     It  is 


76  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

a  sin  against  our  total  life,  for  our  entire  mental 
efficiency  is  conditioned  upon  our  bodily  well-being. 

Neither  is  the  mastication  of  our  food  a  matter 
of  hygienic  and  moral  indifference.  To  fail  to  have 
the  digestive  work  properly  initiated  in  the  mouth  is 
to  throw  upon  the  stomach  a  burden  that  does  not 
properly  belong  to  it.  The  result  is  that  the  work 
of  digestion  is  not  thoroughly  done,  and  our  bodily 
strength  is  weakened,  and  with  the  weakening  of  the 
bodily  organism  there  is  a  corresponding  impairment 
of  mental  and  moral  strength. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  dietetics  is  an  important 
branch  of  hygiene,  and  it  ought  to  figure  conspic- 
uously in  the  training  of  the  child.  Since  we  are 
under  obligations  to  moralise  the  bodily  life,  and 
since  the  supreme  obligation  here  is  to  raise  the 
bodily  organism  to  its  highest  point  of  efficiency,  it 
becomes  our  duty  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  the 
laws  of  hygiene  as  they  relate  to  food,  and 
to  conform  to  them.  Thus  this  subject  becomes  a 
part  of  morals  and  religion  also.  It  belongs  to 
moral  and  religious  education  as  well  as  to  intel- 
lectual culture.  Prudence  and  self-control  in  regard 
to  our  appetite  for  food  are  virtues  which  must  be 
cultivated,  and  the  time  to  cultivate  them  is  in  early 
childhood  and  youth. 

But  these  virtues  ought  also  to  be  practiced  in  re- 
lation to  our  drinking.  Water,  too,  is  a  fundamental 
necessity  of  our  bodily  life.  As  in  the  case  of  food, 
so  in  the  case  of  drink,  our  bodily  efficiency  is  de- 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  77 

pendent  on  the  quality  of  the  water  we  drink,  and  on 
the  mode  of  drinking  it.  In  regard  to  the  quality, 
it  is  exceedingly  important  that  the  water  introduced 
into  the  system  be  pure.  As  in  the  food  we  eat,  and 
in  the  air  we  breathe,  so  in  the  water  we  drink 
disease  microbes  are  often  present.  For  example, 
water  is  probably  the  most  prolific  carrier  of  typhoid 
fever  germs,  so  that  it  is  a  matter  of  vital  im- 
portance for  us  to  protect  the  body  from  such 
sources  of  danger.  From  a  hygienic  point  of  view 
hardly  anything  is  more  important  to  a  city  than  its 
water  supply.  Citizens  should  guard  it  against  all 
sources  of  pollution,  especially  from  sewage. 
Hence  prudence  here  is  not  only  an  hygienic  obliga- 
tion, but  a  moral  obligation  as  well.  Every  indi- 
vidual is  under  moral  obligation  to  guard  the  interests 
of  his  own  bodily  life  as  well  as  the  interests  of  the 
bodily  life  of  the  community  from  such  dangers. 
Not  only  the  teacher  of  hygiene,  and  the  teacher  of 
morals  in  our  schools,  but  the  parent  also  should 
aim  to  cultivate  in  the  child  the  virtue  of  prudence  in 
this  respect.  In  this  relation  it  is  both  a  personal 
and  a  social  virtue. 

A  moral  obligation  extends  also  to  our  mode  of 
drinking  water.  How  we  drink  is  a  matter  both 
of  hygienic  and  of  moral  concern.  We  should  not 
drink  while  chewing  our  food.  To  do  so  interferes 
with  the  digestive  process  by  replacing  the  saliva 
whose  office  is  to  moisten  and  soften  the  food.  It 
thus  interferes  with  the  proper  preparation  of  the 


78  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

food  for  the  stomach.  This  means  that  it  inter- 
feres with  digestion,  and  good  digestion  is  abso- 
lutely essential  to  our  highest  physical  well-being. 
So  here  again  the  virtue  of  prudence  becomes  impor- 
tant, and  a  course  in  moral  and  religious  training 
should  emphasise  the  virtue  in  this  relation.  Indeed, 
it  needs  special  emphasis,  for  there  is  scarcely  any 
law  of  hygiene  more  frequently  and  flagrantly  vio- 
lated by  children  than  this  one. 

Sleep  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  an  appetite.  It  is 
an  absolutely  necessary  condition  of  the  body's  main- 
tenance and  well-being.  Indeed,  every  one's  bodily 
and  mental  efficiency  is  largely  dependent  upon  it. 
During  our  waking  moments  the  brain  is  constantly 
active.  It  is  at  work  even  in  our  most  trivial  em- 
ployments. It  is  constantly  expending  its  energy. 
Hence  it  becomes  fatigued  and  needs  rest.  Sleep 
brings  the  rest  necessary  for  saving  and  renewing  its 
energy.  And  so  it  is  with  the  other  organs  of  the 
body.  Although  more  or  less  active  during  sleep, 
they  are  relatively  at  rest  when  their  activity  is  com- 
pared with  that  of  our  waking  moments.  This  re- 
sults in  a  saving  and  a  renewing  of  our  bodily  energy. 
When  we  sleep,  we  cease  to  spend  and  destroy;  we 
save  and  construct. 

Sleep  is  an  important  factor  in  the  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  childhood.  This  being  so,  the  amount, 
soundness,  and  regularity  of  sleep  are  essential  con- 
ditions of  the  body's  welfare,  and  prudence  and  self- 
control  in  this  respect  become  matters  of  hygienic 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  79 

value  and  of  ethical  obligation.  In  other  words, 
from  the  moral  standpoint  they  are  virtues,  and  call 
not  only  for  recognition,  but  for  more  than  ordinary 
emphasis  in  every  scheme  of  moral  education;  for, 
in  view  of  the  vital  importance  of  sleep  in  its  relation 
to  the  child's  physical  and  mental  welfare,  our  care- 
lessness in  regard  to  his  interests  in  this  respect  is 
not  only  a  serious  hygienic  evil,  but  a  moral  evil  as 
well. 

Parents  have  a  duty  to  perform  here.  Many  par- 
ents are  ignorant  of  the  vital  importance  of  sleep  for 
the  total  well-being  of  the  child,  and,  therefore,  fla- 
grantly violate  the  laws  of  hygiene  in  the  treatment 
of  their  children  in  this  respect.  We  must  raise  up  a 
generation  possessed  of  knowledge,  prudence,  and 
self-control  in  these  matters,  so  that  not  only  they, 
but  subsequent  generations,  also,  may  profit  by  their 
knowledge  and  virtue. 

"  We  cannot  say  what  the  mental  and  physical  av- 
erage of  our  race  is  really  capable  of  being  until  we 
devote  far  more  attention  than  any  hitherto  to  the 
question  of  sleep  in  childhood.  It  is  not  only  growth 
of  limb  but  also  growth  and  development  of  brain 
that  occurs  during  the  constructive  period  of  sleep. 
To  eat  is  only  to  take  in,  but  to  sleep  is  to  build."  * 

Another  essential  condition  of  bodily  welfare 
which  calls  for  the  exercise  of  prudence  is  proper 
breathing.     We  breathe  from  birth  till  death,  and 

1  Saleeby,  Health,  Strength,  and  Happiness,  New  York,  1908,  p. 
108. 


80  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

our  physical  well-being  is  conditioned  upon  the  air  we 
breathe,  and  upon  our  mode  of  breathing.  The  re- 
sults of  fresh  and  pure  air  in  a  well-ventilated  room, 
compared  with  those  of  a  poorly  ventilated  room, 
will  be  very  apparent.  Dr.  Gulick,  in  his  simple  hy- 
gienic lesson  to  children,  does  not  exaggerate  the 
case: 

"  I  can  think,"  he  says,  "  of  two  schoolrooms.  In 
the  first  the  children  look  unhappy;  their  eyes  are 
dull  and  their  cheeks  are  flushed,  though  some  of 
them  have  pale  faces  instead.  Only  a  few  sit  up 
straight,  while  none  of  them  look  as  if  they  enjoyed 
studying.  One  class  is  reciting  a  spelling  lesson,  and 
I  notice  that  several  of  the  children  miss  the  easiest 
words.  In  this  room  the  air  is  wretched.  I  look 
around  and  cannot  see  any  place  for  fresh  air  to 
enter. 

"  The  second  room  is  of  the  same  size,  and  al- 
though it  holds  the  same  number  of  children,  still 
everything  here  is  different.  Both  the  girls  and  the 
boys  look  as  if  they  enjoyed  studying,  most  of  them 
are  sitting  up  straight,  their  eyes  are  bright,  they  do 
not  often  miss  the  easy  words,  and  nobody  looks 
cross.  As  might  be  expected,  enough  fresh  air  is 
coming  into  the  room  all  the  time  to  keep  it  fresh 
and  pure."  * 

Until  recently  the  explanation  of  the  bad  effects  of 
this  "  wretched  air  "  on  the  bodily  life  was  that  they 
were  due  to  the  introduction  of  carbon  dioxide  into 
1  Gulick,  Good  Health,  Boston,  1906,  pp.  6-7. 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  81 

the  system.  Beside  inert  nitrogen  air  contains  oxy- 
gen and  carbon  dioxide,  one  of  which  is  beneficial  to 
the  body,  the  other  is  not.  In  inhaling  pure  air,  we 
inhale  oxygen;  when  it  is  exhaled,  it  has  been  changed 
by  the  lungs  into  carbon  dioxide.  When  we  are  in  a 
room  not  properly  ventilated,  there  is  a  gradual  de- 
crease of  oxygen  and  an  increase  of  carbon  dioxide, 
which  may  be  harmful.  It  was  formerly,  and  still 
is,  supposed  by  many  that  we  are  poisoned  by  in- 
haling it.  Lately,  however,  this  explanation  has 
been  called  into  question;  indeed,  it  has  been  rejected 
as  false.  Dr.  Leonard  Hill  and  others  affirm,  on  the 
basis  of  experiment,  that  the  evil  results  of  living  in 
stuffy  or  ill-ventilated  rooms  are  due  to  the  tempera- 
ture, dryness,  and  stagnation  of  the  air  rather  than 
to  its  chemical  impurity, —  to  a  deficiency  of  oxygen, 
and  the  inhalation  of  carbon  dioxide, —  and  that  our 
American  school  buildings,  many  of  which  are  heated 
by  hot-air  systems,  are  often  responsible  for  the 
throat  and  respiratory  troubles  of  children.1 

Whichever  of  these  two  explanations  is  correct, 
the  fact  remains  the  same,  that  poorly  ventilated 
rooms  are  responsible  for  serious  bodily  ills,  and 
therefore  the  child  should  be  made  acquainted  with 
the  fact,  and  be  taught  the  importance  of  proper 
ventilation. 

And  what  is  true  on  a  large  scale  with  respect  to 
the  schoolroom  is  equally  true  on  a  smaller  scale 
concerning  the  home.     Children  ought  to  be  made  to 

1  Hill,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  October,  1912. 


82  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

realise  the  importance  of  good  ventilation  in  the 
home,  and  thus  we  shall  raise  up  a  generation  that 
will  observe  hygienic  measures  on  which  the  physical, 
mental,  moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of  a  people 
largely  depend.  Prudence  in  this  respect  should  be 
cultivated  as  a  moral  and  religious  obligation.  Par- 
ents should  try  to  establish  the  child  in  this  important 
virtue. 

But  there  is  another  aspect  of  this  subject. 
Modern  science  has  made  us  acquainted  with  the  ex- 
istence of  innumerable  microbes  in  the  air,  some  of 
which  are  the  enemies  of  man,  and  which,  when  intro- 
duced into  the  body  through  breathing,  threaten  its 
welfare,  and  often,  indeed,  its  life.  Dangerous  mi- 
crobes frequently  infest  poorly  ventilated  rooms,  so 
that  here  again  the  virtue  of  prudence  becomes  a 
necessity  if  we  would  preserve  our  bodily  efficiency. 
Furthermore,  whether  in  the  home  or  out  of  it,  we 
are  constantly  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere  of  dust, 
varying  in  degrees  of  tensity.  In  this  atmosphere 
harmful  microbes  are  often  present.  So  that  the 
dust  of  streets  should  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible, 
and  great  care  should  be  exercised,  not  only  in  keep- 
ing the  house  as  clean  as  possible,  but  also  in  sweep- 
ing carpets,  shaking  rugs,  dusting  furniture,  and 
brushing  clothes.  Carelessness  here  becomes  an  evil 
because  of  the  danger  involved,  and  prudence  be- 
comes a  virtue.  Parents  should  train  children  to  be 
on  guard  against  the  vice,  and  to  practice  the  virtue, 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  83 

the  opportunity  for  exercising  which  comes  to  every 
one. 

Again,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  as  to  how 
we  breathe.  The  child  should  not  breathe  through 
his  mouth.  As  a  rule,  the  presence  of  adenoids  will 
probably  be  found  responsible  for  improper  breath- 
ing of  this  nature.  Parents  should  be  on  the  alert 
in  regard  to  this  trouble.  If  the  child  breathes  per- 
sistently through  his  mouth,  they  should  have  him 
examined  by  a  physician.  Adenoids  are  often  the 
cause  of  mental  retardation  in  the  child.  There  are 
other  forms  of  improper  breathing  which  in  many 
city  schools  will  probably  be  corrected  by  the  teacher 
of  hygiene  or  the  physical  director.  But  when  the 
teacher  of  hygiene  or  the  physical  director  is  not  to 
be  found  in  the  school,  then  parents  should  take  the 
matter  in  hand.  They  should  be  informed  on  the 
subject  of  proper  methods  of  breathing,  and  the  child 
has  a  right  to  the  benefit  of  their  information. 
Montessori  speaks  of  "  the  art  of  breathing,"  and 
she  has  adopted  Professor  Sala's  system  of  respira- 
tory gymnastics  for  the  purpose  of  developing  this 
"  art."  x  The  matter  is  one  of  vital  importance 
from  a  hygienic  point  of  view,  and,  therefore,  the 
parent  must  treat  the  subject  as  a  matter  of  moral 
concern  also. 

Exercise  is  another  essential  of  bodily  welfare, 

1  Montessori,    The   Montessori   Method,   translated   by   Anne   E. 
George,  New  York,  1912,  p.  147. 


84  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

and,  as  such,  it  becomes  a  moral  obligation.  There 
are  two  forms  of  exercise :  play  and  physical  labour. 
Both,  properly  indulged  in,  make  for  the  welfare  of 
the  body.  Play  pre-eminently  belongs  to  childhood 
and  youth.  To-day  the  playground  comes  into  the 
curriculum  of  the  school  out  of  the  experience  of  the 
street.  It  has  been  found  so  potent  an  influence  in 
the  lives  of  unprivileged  children  that  the  providing 
of  open  spaces  for  the  purpose  of  supervised  play  is 
becoming  more  and  more  a  part  of  the  business  of 
every  progressive  city.  Many  experiments  have 
thus  been  tried  already,  and  the  results  are  available 
for  use  in  the  schools.  The  idea  of  using  school- 
yards for  real  playgrounds  is  largely  the  outcome  of 
these  successful  experiments. 

Of  course,  the  schoolyard  has  always  been  a  place 
for  play,  but  it  has  seldom  been  an  attractive  place; 
hardly  has  it  been  well  adapted  to  purposes  of  recrea- 
tion; and  still  less  frequently  has  any  serious  effort 
been  made  to  render  by  expert  direction  the  games 
of  the  children  profitable  as  well  as  pleasant.  The 
private  school  has  had  a  great  advantage  in  this  re- 
spect over  the  public  school.  Indeed,  the  playground 
has  thus  far  been  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the 
existence  of  the  private  school.  Parents  perceive 
that  out-of-door  play  is  a  part  of  the  normal  life 
of  the  child,  and  that  without  it  not  only  the  physical 
but  the  moral  life  is  endangered.  They  perceive 
also  that  the  crowded  town  affords  little  opportunity 
for  such  recreation.     Hence  they  send  their  children 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  85 

to  schools  which  are  built  in  the  country,  in  the  midst 
of  broad  fields  for  exercise.  The  teaching  in  the 
classrooms  of  these  schools  may  be  no  better  than  in 
the  public  schools,  or  not  so  good,  but  the  boys  and 
girls  get  the  needed  development  which  is  gained 
from  normal  play. 

The  transformation  of  schoolyards  into  play- 
grounds gives  to  the  poor  one  of  the  privileges  of 
the  rich.  This  matter  is  intimately  related  to  morals. 
It  is  a  help  to  good  health,  and  is  thus  an  aid  to  all 
good  living.  It  improves  the  quality  of  the  moral 
stock;  it  gives  the  city  better  citizens.  Hence  par- 
ents should  co-operate  with  town  and  city  authorities 
in  providing  means  for  supervised  play  for  children. 

The  first  necessity  is  an  enlargement  of  most 
schoolyards  to  make  them  big  enough  for  actual  use. 
Then  the  materials  of  amusement  must  be  supplied  in 
the  form  of  swings  and  games,  and  other  opportuni- 
ties for  exercise.  In  charge  of  the  whole  must  be  a 
director.  The  moral  value  of  the  playground  de- 
pends on  his  wise  supervision.  For  the  games  of 
children  are  to  be  used  not  only  to  amuse  them,  and 
not  only  to  enlarge  their  lungs  and  straighten  their 
backs  and  toughen  their  muscles,  but  to  minister  to 
the  betterment  of  character.  They  are  to  carry 
from  their  recreations  not  only  a  knowledge  of 
games,  which  must  presently,  in  the  business  of  life, 
be  of  little  use,  but  a  knowledge  of  life  itself,  learned 
in  the  learning  and  playing  of  the  games.  Such 
school  grounds  should  also  be  available  for  super- 


86  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

vised  sport  outside  of  school  hours.  In  this  way 
children  will  often  be  kept  away  from  unwholesome 
influences  on  the  street,  and  provided  with  pleasant 
and  profitable  entertainment. 

According  to  Groos,  animal  play  is  a  preparation 
for  the  life  the  young  animal  must  lead  later  in  the 
struggle  for  existence.  This  is  true  also  of  the  child, 
however  true  may  be  the  so-called  recapitulatory 
theory  of  play,  which  affirms  that  children  in  their 
play  are  simply  reproducing  or  perpetuating  the  more 
serious  occupations  of  their  ancestors  in  their  efforts 
to  gain  a  livelihood.  It  is  nature's  method  of  pre- 
paring the  child  for  the  things  he  must  later  work 
at  instead  of  play  at.  It  prepares  him  also  for  the 
larger  moral  life  which  will  be  his  in  the  future. 
Aside  from  the  benefits  to  the  bodily  life  gained 
through  play,  the  playground  is  the  classroom  of  the 
virtues.  Children  are  taught,  without  knowing  that 
they  are  learning  lessons,  how  to  get  on  with  their 
neighbours.  They  learn  courage,  patience,  and  for- 
bearance, and  self-restraint,  and  to  await  their  turn, 
and  to  be  fair  and  honest,  to  lose  with  good  humour, 
and  to  care  for  the  game  more  than  for  the  prize. 
They  perceive  that  results  are  best  attained  by  com- 
bined effort,  by  "  team  play."  They  learn  to  obey, 
to  follow  a  leader,  to  subordinate  themselves.  They 
prepare  for  the  serious  responsibilities  of  life. 
Speaking  of  the  moral  benefits  of  play  a  recent  writer 
says : — 

"  Comparing  our  modern  view  of  child-activity 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  87 

with  the  mediaeval  suppression  of  all  childish  tend- 
encies, it  is  refreshing  to  live  in  an  age  when  courage, 
tenacity,  persistence,  self-reliance,  magnanimity,  gen- 
erosity, co-ordination,  will-power,  health,  strength, 
morals  and  mind  are  all  said  to  be  cultivated  as  freely 
upon  the  playground  as  in  the  best-ordered  school- 
room or  class. 

"  What  a  child  is  in  play  he  is  in  the  holy  of  holies 
of  his  being.  If  the  rules  of  the  game  will  not  hold 
him,  if  the  high-call  of  '  fair  play  '  will  not  inspire 
him,  if  the  judgment  and  ostracism  of  his  peers  will 
not  correct  him,  then  indeed  is  he  an  incorrigible. 
His  play-world  is  his  larger  self.  If  against  this 
larger  self  the  smaller  self  of  infinitesimal  interests 
conflicts  and  continues  to  conflict,  the  saddening  pro- 
phecy is  almost  inevitable  that  the  adult  will  be  domi- 
nated in  the  larger  world  by  the  same  relative  small 
self.  But,  in  all  childhood,  no  force  is  better  calcu- 
lated to  eradicate  just  these  small  tendencies  and  to 
develop  in  wholesome  expansion  the  larger  self  that 
on  the  playground  is  the  real  self.  Kant's  whole 
theory  of  morals  rested  upon  a  categorical  impera- 
tive which  drew  its  validity  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
autonomous,  or  was  accepted  as  right  and  good  by 
the  very  ones  who  made  it.  Such  a  rule  resulted  in  a 
Kingdom  of  Ends  wherein  people  were  both  subject 
and  king.  The  only  place  on  earth  approaching  such 
a  wished-for  consummation  is  a  child's  play-world, 
wherein  he  enters  the  games  because  he  wishes  to, 
wherein  the  rules  of  the  game  are  his  own  making, 


88  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

wherein  non-conformance  immediately  and  auto- 
matically excludes  the  offender  from  the  game.  For 
the  average  child  the  threat  of  such  exclusion  is  a 
little  more  fearful  than  the  doctrine  of  eternal 
annihilation  is  to  adults."  l 

Gymnastics,  too,  are  a  wholesome  form  of  phys- 
ical exercise.  They  partake  both  of  the  nature  of 
play,  and,  as  prescribed  exercises,  of  the  nature  of 
work.  They  should  be  encouraged  in  every  school, 
for  they  make  for  the  vitality  and  efficiency  of  the 
body.  Parents  should  urge  school  authorities  to 
provide  opportunities  and  apparatus  for  systematic 
exercise  of  this  kind  and  encourage  their  children  in 
the  efficient  use  of  it.  Such  a  regimen  not  only  has  a 
wholesome  physical  effect,  but  the  order  and  disci- 
pline involved  exert  a  moralising  influence  as  well. 
"  As  boys  become  interested  in  their  biceps  they  grow 
trusty  and  are  more  likely  to  be  temperate,  to  accept 
discipline,  to  be  more  interested  in  wholesome 
regime.  As  muscles  develop,  the  gap  between  know- 
ing and  doing  narrows,  and  motor  mindedness  in- 
creases. There  also  arises  a  salutary  sense  of  the 
difference  between  tolerable  wellness,  or  mere  ab- 
sence of  sickness,  and  an  exuberant  buoyant  feeling 
of  abounding  vitality,  health,  and  vigour,  which 
brings  courage,  hope,  and  right  ambition  in  its  train, 
power  to  undergo  hardship,  do  difficult  things,  bear 
trials,   and  resist  temptation,   while   flabby  muscles 

1  Holmes,    Principles   of   Character  Making,   Philadelphia,    1913, 
pp.  306,  307. 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  89 

and  deficiency  of  exercise  give  a  sense  of  weakness, 
lust  for  indulgence,  easy  discouragement,  and  feel- 
ings of  inefficiency."  1 

We  need  have  no  misgivings  about  the  amount  of 
time  required  for  such  physical  exercise.  It  is  well 
spent.  It  is  a  preparation  for  future  demands  upon 
the  individual's  bodily  and  mental  strength.  "  We 
must  think  of  the  heavy  drafts  which  arduous  voca- 
tions make  in  after  years  on  bodily  vigour  and  en- 
durance, of  the  habitual  cheerfulness  that  follows 
health,  and  not  least  of  that  sense  of  insurance 
against  whatever  the  future  can  bring  which  comes 
of  the  consciousness  of  calculable  physical  fitness. 
Plato  startles  us  in  his  educational  ideal  by  assigning 
two  and  a  half  of  the  most  precious  years  of  life  to 
the  exclusive  pursuit  of  '  gymnastic'  If  it  seem  a 
costly  tribute  to  the  body,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind 
that  it  is  prompted  by  the  principle  '  Body  for  the 
sake  of  Soul,'  and  finds  its  justification  in  the  strenu- 
ous service  to  be  exacted  by  the  State  of  its  citizens 
in  later  years."  2 

It  is  fortunate,  also,  from  a  moral  point  of  view 
that  manual  training  has  been  introduced  so  largely 
into  our  schools.  It,  too,  is  a  kind  of  physical  exer- 
cise which  makes  for  the  development  of  the  body, 
and  for  this  reason  alone  it  might  be  commended  on 
moral  grounds,  to  say  nothing  here  of  its  value  for 

1  Hall,  Educational  Problems,  New  York,  1911,  Vol.  1,  p.  273. 

2  MacCunn,  The  Making  of  Character,  New  York,  1910,  pp.  56- 
57- 


9o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  development  of  the  will,  and  its  great  moral  value 
in  developing  certain  virtues  and  in  preparing,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  pupils  for  the  vocational  or  eco- 
nomic life.  Here  it  is  sufficient  heartily  to  commend 
manual  training  on  the  ground  of  its  value  for  morals 
because  of  its  salutary  effect  upon  the  bodily  life.  It 
makes  for  vitality  and  better  physical  development, 
and,  therefore,  for  greater  physical  efficiency,  thus 
rendering  the  body  a  more  capable  instrument  in  the 
service  of  the  mind. 

In  dealing  with  the  moralisation  of  the  bodily  life 
another  virtue  to  be  dealt  with  is  physical  courage. 
Courage  is  often  necessary  for  the  preservation  of 
the  body,  not  only  from  injury,  but  also  from  pos- 
sible death,  and  therefore  it  becomes  a  moral  obliga- 
tion. The  Greeks  greatly  emphasised  this  virtue. 
Aristotle  regarded  courage  as  the  mean  between  cow- 
ardice and  foolhardiness.  Physical  courage  moral- 
ised is  really  rational  self-defence.  Such  courage  is 
always  prudent.  It  guards  the  body  against  surprise 
and  sudden  or  prolonged  attacks. 

"  That  man  is  brave,"  says  Paulsen,  "  who,  when 
attacked  and  in  peril,  neither  blindly  runs  away  nor 
rushes  into  danger,  but  retaining  his  composure,  care- 
fully and  calmly  studies  the  situation,  quietly  deliber- 
ates and  decides,  and  then  carries  out  his  resolution 
firmly  and  energetically,  whether  it  be  resistance  and 
attack,  or  defence  and  retreat.  Prudence,  therefore, 
constitutes  an  essential  part  of  valour."  1 

1  Paulsen,  A  System  of  Ethics,  translated  by  Thilly,  New  York, 
1900,  p.  496. 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  91 

It  is  well  for  parent  and  teacher  to  develop  this 
virtue  in  children.  They  ought  to  be  taught  to  en- 
dure pain  patiently  and  courageously;  to  meet  danger 
fearlessly,  but  cautiously.  In  this  way  they  not  only 
render  a  valuable  service  to  the  body,  but  also  to  the 
soul.  Its  value  for  social  service  is  often  seen  in  the 
golden  deeds  of  heroism  on  the  part  of  children, 
which  constitute  a  glorious  page  in  the  annals  of  the 
race,  and  in  that  martial  courage  which  is  the  ex- 
pression of  patriotic  loyalty  to  the  state,  and  which, 
later  in  life,  they  may  be  called  upon  to  exercise,  and 
for  which  the  early  cultivation  of  courage  prepares 
the  way. 


Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red, 
When  it  sparkleth  in  the  cup, 
When  it  goeth  down  smoothly: 
At  the  last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent, 
And  stingeth  like  an  adder. 

—  Proverbs  xxiii,  31,  32. 

Who  hath  woe?     Who  hath  sorrow?     Who  hath  contentions? 
Who  hath  complaining?     Who  hath  wounds  without  cause? 
Who  hath  redness  of  eyes? 
They  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine. 

—  Proverbs  xxiii,  29,  30. 

Keep  thyself  pure. 

— ■/  Timothy  v,  22. 

Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not  mocked:  for  whatsoever  a  man 
soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  For  he  that  soweth  unto 
his  own  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption ;  but  he 
that  soweth  unto  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  eternal 
life. 

—  Galatians  vi,  7,  8. 

Or  know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have  from  God?  and  ye  are 
not  your  own;  for  ye  were  bought  with  a  price:  glorify 
God  therefore  in  your  body. 

—  /  Corinthians  vi,  19,  20. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  bodily  life     (Continued) 

In  relation  to  alcoholic  stimulants,  temperance  is 
a  form  of  self-control  and  prudence  with  reference 
to  the  bodily  life  that  should  receive  special  consider- 
ation at  the  hands  of  the  school  because  of  its  vital 
relation  to  the  interests  of  the  individual  and  of 
society.  So  callous  do  we  seem  to  be  to  the  awful 
social,  economic,  and  moral  effects  of  its  opposite 
—  the  vice  of  intemperance  —  that  it  seems  as 
though  it  might  be  more  effective  to  approach  the 
moral  aspects  of  the  subject  through  hygiene.  For 
children,  at  least,  acquaintance  with  the  evil  effects 
of  alcohol,  and  of  an  intemperate  use  of  it,  on  the 
bodily  organism  may  prove  to  be  the  most  effective 
means  of  introducing  them  to  the  higher  moral  con- 
siderations involved.  To  this  end  it  is  well  for  the 
teacher  of  elementary  morals  to  co-operate  with  the 
teacher  of  hygiene, —  the  one  dealing  primarily 
with  the  scientific  aspects  of  the  subject,  and  the 
other  more  especially  with  the  moral  aspects  as  in- 
volved in  the  facts  disclosed  by  science. 

The  effects  of  alcohol  on  the  bodily  organism  are 
so  deleterious  that  it  is  not  difficult  to  develop  in  the 

93 


94  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

large  majority  of  pupils  a  moral  attitude  against  its 
use  as  a  beverage.  Metchnikoff  has  shown  how 
its  effect  upon  the  white  cells  of  the  blood  —  the 
so-called  leucocytes  or,  as  he  calls  them,  the  phag- 
ocytes or  eating  cells,  the  natural  protectors  of  the 
body  —  is  to  diminish  their  power  of  resistance 
against  the  attacks  of  the  unfriendly  microbes  of  in- 
fectious diseases.  The  function  of  the  white  cells  is 
to  weaken  and  destroy  these  disease  germs.  Like 
soldiers  they  rush  to  the  front  in  cases  of  inflamma- 
tion and  fight  the  enemies  of  the  body.  They  eat 
them  up.  Thus  they  are  our  friends,  and  alcohol  is 
our  enemy,  for  it  weakens  their  fighting  ability;  it 
lessens  the  power  of  resistance  of  these  minute 
friends  that  live  in  the  blood. 

Science  also  calls  attention  to  the  deleterious  effects 
of  alcohol  on  the  brain.  It  affects  for  the  time  being 
the  higher  brain  centres  which  have  to  do  with  self- 
control.  Science  further  tells  us  of  its  bad  effects 
on  the  nervous  system,1  as  well  as  of  its  results  in 
weakening  our  powers  of  endurance  of  heat  and  cold. 
It  is,  also,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  responsible 
for  a  large  number  of  the  cases  of  insanity  that 
burden  the  race. 

It  might  be  well,  also,  to  call  the  attention  of  chil- 
dren, at  least  of  the  age  of  those  in  the  eighth  grade 
of  our  public  schools,  to  the  effects  of  alcohol  on  chil- 
dren born   of   parents   who    are   merely   moderate 

1  Mcintosh,  Journal  of  Advanced  Therapeutics,  April,  1912,  p. 
167. 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  95 

drinkers.  Professor  Drake,  in  a  recent  volume, 
sums  it  up  in  these  words :  — 

"  Children  of  total  abstainers  have  a  great  ad- 
vantage, on  the  average,  in  size,  stature,  bodily 
vigour,  intellectual  power;  they  stand,  on  the  aver- 
age, between  a  year  and  two  years  ahead  in  class  of 
the  children  of  moderate  drinkers,  they  have  less  than 
half  as  many  eye,  ear,  and  other  physical  defects. 
This  proved  influence  of  even  light  drinking  upon  the 
vitality  and  normality  transmitted  to  children  should 
be  the  most  serious  of  indictments  against  self-indul- 
gence. Truly  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited  upon 
the  second  and  third  generation."  1 

It  is  evident  from  all  this  that  a  most  serious  in- 
dictment can  be  brought  against  alcohol  in  its  relation 
to  the  bodily  organism.  It  makes  against  its  vitality, 
health,  and  efficiency;  it  is  an  enemy  of  our  bodily 
life.  It  would  seem  from  a  hygienic,  and  therefore 
from  a  moral  point  of  view,  that  not  only  temper- 
ance but  abstinence  also  is  a  moral  obligation. 
And  when  we  add  to  all  this  the  terrible  indictment 
against  intemperance  that  comes  from  the  enormous 
economic  waste,  and  from  criminology, —  an  indict- 
ment that  makes  alcohol  responsible  for  more  than 
half  of  the  crimes  against  society, —  it  is  evident  that 
temperance  is  a  virtue  that  should  be  taught  in  the 
schools.  Intemperance  is  a  most  serious  sin  against 
body  and  mind,  and  a  terrible  sin  against  society. 
Indeed,  it  is  an  evil  of  such  magnitude  that  to  bring 

1  Drake,  Problems  of  Conduct,  Boston,  1914,  p.  200. 


96  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  with  reference  to 
the  virtue  of  temperance  alone  would  almost  justify 
a  course  in  elementary  hygiene  and  morals. 

In  regard  to  the  deleterious  effects  of  the  use  of 
tobacco  on  the  bodily  organism,  there  is  such  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  that  it  is  hard  to  treat  the  matter 
with  accuracy.  But  while  this  is  true  with  reference 
to  its  effects  on  adults,  there  seems  to  be  a  pretty  gen- 
eral consensus  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  students  of 
hygiene  in  regard  to  the  effect  of  cigarette  smoking  on 
children.  It  is  affirmed  that  the  poison  of  the  nico- 
tine in  cigarettes  weakens  the  action  of  the  heart,  irri- 
tates the  nerves,  and  retards  physical  growth  and  de- 
velopment. Many  school  principals  make  it  respon- 
sible for  mental  inefficiency,  which  in  many  cases 
leads  to  truancy,  and  truancy  often  leads  to  crime,  all 
of  which  is  doubtless  due  originally  to  the  ill  effects  of 
nicotine  on  the  body.  If  this  be  true,  then  abstinence 
with  reference  to  cigarette  smoking  on  the  part  of 
boys  is  to  be  taught  as  a  virtue.  School  principals 
affirm  this  to  be  an  evil  of  no  small  proportion 
among  pupils,  to  be  found  in  many  instances  even 
among  children  of  the  fourth  grade  of  our  schools, 
and,  indeed,  sometimes  among  those  of  the  third 
grade.  Because  of  its  baneful  effects  upon  the  bodily 
life,  and  its  general  demoralising  influence,  it  should 
be  seriously  dealt  with. 

Self-control  in  the  regulation  of  sexual  appetite  is 
another  essential  condition  of  bodily  welfare,  which, 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  97 

because  of  its  vital  relation  to  morality,  calls  for 
special  consideration  in  the  moral  training  of  children 
and  youth.  A  difficult  problem  confronts  us  here. 
We  have  only  recently  waked  up  to  the  tremendous 
importance  of  this  aspect  of  moral  and  religious  edu- 
cation. The  merging  of  childhood  into  youth,  and 
youth  into  young  manhood  and  womanhood,  are  in 
many  respects  the  most  important  periods  in  the 
history  of  a  human  being,  and  the  mental,  moral,  and 
spiritual  interests  involved  are  momentous.  Psycho- 
logical and  educational  science  is  now  devoting  ear- 
nest effort  to  the  study  of  the  phenomena  of  adoles- 
cence. Profound  physical  and  mental  changes, 
fraught  with  moral  significance,  occur  in  the  life  of 
the  individual,  and  their  nature  and  meaning  ought 
to  be  understood,  not  only  by  the  scientist,  but  by  the 
teacher,  parent,  and  children  as  well.  Appalling  ig- 
norance on  this  subject  has  heretofore  reigned  su- 
preme; and  a  fatal  modesty  has,  as  a  rule,  kept  par- 
ents and  teachers  from  imparting  what  knowledge 
they  have  to  children  who  have  a  right  to  know.  As 
a  result,  many  children  have  been  seriously  injured, 
and  many  have  been  lost  bodily,  mentally,  and  mor- 
ally because  of  their  ignorance.  What  rational  ex- 
cuse can  be  given  for  withholding  from  children  that 
which  they  have  a  right  to  know  because  of  its  vital 
relation  to  their  total  welfare?  A  modesty  that  will 
keep  children  ignorant  on  such  a  vital  subject  is  not 
only  false,  but  partakes  of  moral  recreancy.     Any 


98  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

one  truly  and  intelligently  interested  in  the  moral 
welfare  of  society  should  not  oppose  a  judicious  but 
frank  dealing  with  this  problem. 

From  the  standpoint  of  elementary  moral  and  re- 
ligious education  the  problem  is,  how  should  this 
important  matter  of  sex  be  dealt  with?  It  is  a  pre- 
requisite of  the  best  moral  results  that  boys  and  girls 
should  be  enlightened  on  this  subject.  And  the  first 
question  that  arises  is,  when?  Instruction  along 
these  lines  must  be  carefully  adapted  to  each  period 
of  the  child's  development.  In  the  light  of  recent 
investigations  these  periods  may  be  more  or  less  defi- 
nitely determined,  and  our  instruction  may  be  regu- 
lated accordingly.  In  regard  to  the  years  from  one 
to  six,  the  child  is,  as  a  rule,  under  the  parents'  care, 
being  especially  under  the  guidance  of  the  mother. 
Every  mother  should  be  informed  on  the  subject  of 
the  proper  care  of  her  child's  body.  In  the  large  ma- 
jority of  cases  such  information  must  be  brought  to 
the  mother.  Much  might  be  done  to  secure  this  re- 
sult by  organising  mothers'  meetings  in  school  dis- 
tricts, to  be  addressed  by  the  teacher  of  biology  in  the 
public  schools,  if  such  there  be,  or  by  a  careful,  tact- 
ful, and  sympathetic  physician,  who  might  be  invited 
to  give  a  series  of  simple  talks  to  parents.  Such 
meetings  should  be  held  under  the  direction  of  the 
public  schools,  or  of  mothers'  clubs,  many  of  which 
have  been  organised  in  our  cities,  or  of  parenthood 
clubs,  which  might  be  organised  by  social  settlements 
or  by  churches.     Sex  instruction,  as  it  bears  on  the 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  99 

first  six  years  of  childhood,  should  be  part  of  a  gen- 
eral course  given  to  mothers  on  the  subject  of  the 
bodily  care  of  children.  It  would  consist  largely  of 
explaining  to  the  mother  the  dangers  that  may  arise 
from  placing  her  child  under  the  care  of  an  igno- 
rant or  perverted  nurse,  and  in  giving  information  as 
to  how  to  deal  with  the  child's  questions  in  regard  to 
his  own  origin.  Such  questions  are  not  infrequently 
asked  by  children  at  this  time  of  life.  Expert  opin- 
ion regards  it  wise  not  to  ignore  the  question,  or  to 
give  false  replies.1 

The  years  from  six  to  twelve  are,  of  course,  a 
much  more  important  period  in  the  child's  life. 
During  these  years  we  have  the  immediately  pre- 
adolescent  period,  as  well  as  the  dawn  of  adolescence. 
The  vital  importance  of  these  years  cannot  be  exag- 
gerated, and  they  bring  a  very  solemn  obligation  to 
those  who  are  responsible  for  children  during  this 
period.  Sex  instruction  in  the  immediately  pre- 
adolescent  period  should  not  impart  knowlege  of  re- 
lations between  the  sexes.  It  should  concern  itself 
merely  with  the  child's  relations  to  himself,  protect- 
ing him  against  evil  habits  that  involve  a  violation  of 
the  laws  of  his  sexual  nature.  The  ravages  of  such 
habits  are  so  serious  2  that  this  duty  cannot  con- 
scientiously be  shirked  by  those  responsible  for  the 
child's   welfare.     Warning   ought   to   be    given   to 

1  Cf.  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter  and  Meth- 
ods of  Sex  Education,  New  York,  1912,  p.  5. 

2  Cf.  Hall,  Adolescence,  New  York,  1904,  Vols.  I  and  II. 


ioo  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  child  against  an  evil  that  threatens  his  bodily, 
mental,  and  moral  welfare.  Such  instruction  and 
warning  should  not  be  confined  to  the  preadolescent 
period,  but  should  be  repeated  in  the  first  years  of 
adolescence,  and  the  moral  as  well  as  the  hygienic 
restraints  should  be  made  use  of. 

But  the  important  question  arises  here,  by  whom 
should  such  instruction  be  given?  Naturally  the 
parent  is  the  person  upon  whom  this  obligation  rests. 
There  is  sufficient  good  literature  now  available  so 
that  parents  of  ordinary  intelligence  can  inform  them- 
selves how  to  deal  wisely  with  the  subject.  A  list 
of  books  on  sex  hygiene  and  education  may  be  found 
appended  to  this  volume.  But  there  are  many  par- 
ents who  are  not  qualified  to  deal  adequately  with 
the  matter,  or  who,  if  thus  qualified,  shirk  their 
obligations.  Because  of  this  situation,  the  duty  falls 
upon  the  schools,  both  public  and  private,  and 
they  should  not  fail  to  measure  up  to  their  responsi- 
bility. 

But  how  should  the  schools  deal  with  the  prob- 
lem? Either  the  medical  inspector  of  schools,  where 
there  is  one,  or  the  teacher  of  biology  in  schools  that 
employ  one,  should  perform  this  delicate  task.  In 
schools  where  neither  a  medical  inspector  nor  a 
teacher  of  biology  is  to  be  found,  it  would  be  advis- 
able to  invite  physicians  of  standing  to  undertake  such 
instruction.  If  this  be  impossible,  then  the  obliga- 
tion devolves  upon  the  teacher  herself. 

But  how  should  such  instruction  be  given?     Co- 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  101 

education  exists  in  our  public  schools.  Furthermore, 
even  if  this  were  not  the  case,  the  question  arises 
whether  such  instruction  should  be  given  in  public. 
On  the  whole,  private  instruction  seems  to  be  the  best 
method  of  handling  this  important  and  delicate  sub- 
ject. 

But  there  should  be  more  formal  sex  instruction  in 
both  public  and  private  schools  during  the  later  years 
of  this  period  from  six  to  twelve.  This  should  be 
given  in  connection  with  a  course  in  biology.  The 
subject  of  plant  life  lends  itself  admirably  to  this 
purpose.  The  recommendations  on  this  point,  in- 
cluded in  the  Report  previously  referred  to,  are  wise, 
and  may  be  quoted  here  to  advantage :  — 

"  There  should  be  given,  during  the  years  of  later 
childhood,  including  the  remaining  years  of  the  ordi- 
nary elementary  school  course,  a  carefully  planned 
series  of  lessons  on  reproduction  in  plants  as  a  part 
of  the  course  in  nature  study.  The  child  should  be 
made  to  understand  the  function  of  root,  leaf,  flower, 
and  seed;  the  different  modes  of  scattering  seeds;  the 
various  methods  of  fertilisation  and  the  necessity  of 
fertilisation,  and  he  should  be  led  up  to  the  gener- 
alisation that  plant  life  always  springs  from  plant 
life. 

"  In  like  manner  a  series  of  lessons  on  reproduc- 
tion in  animal  life  below  mammals  should  be  given, 
making  use  of  familiar  animals.  The  origin  of  the 
chick,  the  fish,  and  the  frog  from  the  egg,  and  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  frog;  the  origin  of  insects  and 


102  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

their  metamorphoses;  and,  finally,  the  necessity  for 
fertilisation;  —  these  might  form  the  chief,  general 
topics  of  such  a  series  of  lessons. 

"  The  aim  should  be,  so  far  as  specific  sex  instruc- 
tion is  concerned,  to  impress  deeply  the  mind  of  the 
child  with  the  beautiful  and  marvellous  processes  of 
nature  by  which  life  is  reproduced  from  life,  both  in 
the  plant  world  and  in  the  animal  world.  It  is  not 
necessary,  and  in  most  cases  not  desirable,  that  chil- 
dren should  make  application  of  this  knowledge  to 
reproduction  in  man  before  the  beginning  of  adoles- 
cence further  than  that  the  human  infant  is  devel- 
oped within  the  mother.  But  such  instruction  on  re- 
production in  nature  will  create  the  background  of 
knowledge  which  will  afterward  invest  reproduction 
in  the  higher  animals  and  in  man  with  a  significance 
and  a  dignity  not  otherwise  attainable;  and  what  is 
equally  important,  it  will  create  the  right  emotional 
attitude  toward  human  reproduction  and  prepare  the 
child's  mind  to  appreciate  its  sacredness."  * 

In  addition  to  all  this,  however,  children  of  this 
period  should  be  put  through  a  kind  of  regimen. 
They  should  have  opportunities  and  facilities  for 
physical  exercise.  Supervised  play  is  helpful.  It 
not  only  directly  contributes  to  the  bodily  efficiency 
of  boys  and  girls,  but  it  acts  also  as  a  preventive  in 

1  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter  and  Methods  of 
Sex  Education,  New  York,  19 12,  pp.  6-7.  Although  this  report  con- 
tains very  little  that  is  new  it  tends  to  confirm  much  of  the  best  that 
has  been  said  on  the  subject.  We  have  in  the  main  followed  their 
programme  with  reference  to  sex  education 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  103 

regard  to  sex  evils.  It  shields  them,  moreover, 
from  perverting  influences  of  social  surroundings. 
Prophylaxis  in  sex  hygiene  is  as  desirable  as  it  is  in 
medicine. 

The  last  two  years  of  elementary  education  are 
exceedingly  important  in  their  bearing  on  the  prob- 
lem of  sex  education.  A  large  majority  of  the  chil- 
dren of  our  public  schools  fail  to  pursue  school  life 
beyond  the  eighth  grade.  Many  go  into  life  as 
breadwinners  after  their  fourteenth  year.  If  they 
are  to  receive  systematic  instruction  in  regard  to  the 
relation  of  the  sexes,  it  must  be  given  in  most  in- 
stances before  they  leave  the  schools.  And  such  in- 
struction should  be  given.  It  is  therefore  necessary 
for  the  schools  to  make  provision  for  it.  For  here, 
as  in  the  other  aspects  of  sex  education,  and  for  the 
same  reasons  as  stated  above,  we  must  depend  on 
the  schools  rather  than  on  the  home  for  adequate  in- 
struction. Here,  again,  the  instruction  should  be 
given,  if  possible,  by  the  teacher  in  biology.  Of 
course,  reproduction  would  constitute  the  chief  sub- 
ject for  consideration.  The  following  programme 
is  suggested  by  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter 
and  Methods  of  Sex  Education:  — 

"  During  the  early  adolescent  period,  approxi- 
mately from  the  age  of  twelve  to  sixteen,  reproduc- 
tion in  plants  and  in  animals  below  the  mammal 
should  be  more  extensively  studied,  and  the  wonder- 
ful variety  of  modes  for  fertilisation,  especially  in 
plants,  be  emphasised.     It  is  important  to  make  the 


104  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

pupil  acquainted  with  a  wide  range  of  facts,  in  order 
to  impress  his  mind  with  the  wondrous  beauty  of 
nature's  provision  for  the  perpetuation  of  life,  the 
aim  being  always  ethical  as  well  as  scientific  and 
hygienic. 

"  With  this  background  of  knowledge,  reproduc- 
tion in  mammals  may  be  taken  up.  The  teaching 
ought  now  to  impress,  with  many  illustrative  facts, 
the  generalisation  that  animal  life  comes  from  the 
ovum.  (The  more  accurate  formulation  may  be 
left  until  later.)  Fertilisation  in  mammals  should 
now  be  taught,  and  this  should  by  natural  steps  lead 
up  to  reproduction  in  man.  The  simplest  facts  in 
regard  to  heredity  should  now  be  taught,  and  their 
applications  be  made  to  human  life.  The  pupil 
will  then  be  in  a  position  to  understand  the  signifi- 
cance of  sexual  morality,  and  to  be  impressed  with 
the  dangers  to  health  and  morals  of  abnormal  sexual 
habits.  Specific  instruction  in  regard  to  sexual  mo- 
rality will  now  be  especially  effective. 

"  As  girls  mature  from  a  year  to  a  year  and  a  half 
earlier  than  boys,  they  should  receive  instruction 
somewhat  earlier,  and  emphasis  should  be  laid  upon 
instruction  in  regard  to  the  special  care  of  their 
health  at  the  change  of  life  called  puberty."  * 

A  difficulty,  however,  presents  itself  here  that  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  referred  to  above  does  not 
explicitly  deal  with,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  last 

1  Report  of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Matter  and  Methods  of 
Sex  Education,  pp.  7-8. 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  105 

years  of  elementary  education.  Attention  has  been 
called  to  the  fact  that  a  large  majority  of  boys  and 
girls  leave  our  public  schools  after  they  have  finished 
their  work  in  the  grammar  grades.  These  adoles- 
cents should  receive  adequate  instruction  in  regard  to 
the  nature  and  dangers  of  venereal  diseases.  This 
matter  is  so  important  that  instruction  cannot  be 
postponed  to  later  years.  Who  will  furnish  instruc- 
tion to  the  majority  of  our  pupils  who  leave  the 
schools  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen? 
Were  the  large  majority  of  public  school  children  to 
continue  their  education  through  the  high  schools  in- 
stead of  dropping  out  after  completing  their  element- 
ary course,  consideration  of  this  aspect  of  sexual 
relations  might  be  safely  and  profitably  postponed  as 
belonging  more  properly  to  secondary  education. 
But  the  situation  being  what  it  is,  we  must  reckon 
with  the  majority  who  leave  the  schools  at  the  close 
of  the  elementary  period.  Hence,  just  as  in  the  pre- 
adolescent  years  we  prepare  the  child  for  the  adoles- 
cent period,  so  here,  though  it  may  seem  rather  early 
to  some,  we  are  under  obligation  to  prepare  the 
pupils  of  the  grades  for  the  important  years  that 
follow.  And  the  instruction  should  be  most  impres- 
sive. It  should  serve  as  a  powerful,  restraining  in- 
fluence in  the  future  life  of  the  pupil. 

In  many  instances  the  instruction  in  the  class  in 
biology  might  be  supplemented  by  several  talks  by  a 
conscientious  and  tactful  physician.  His  voice  on 
the  pathology  of  sex  would  probably  carry  with  it 


106  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  weight  of  professional  authority.  This  would 
be  more  likely  to  impress  boys  and  girls  than  the 
authority  of  the  teacher  of  biology,  because  the  phy- 
sician is  constantly  dealing  in  a  practical  way  with 
disease.  Of  course,  a  female  physician  should  be 
invited  to  give  instruction  and  warning  to  girls,  and 
a  male  physician  to  boys. 

The  foregoing  views  are  not  in  accord  with  those 
advocated  by  a  recent  writer  on  the  sex  problem. 
Dr.  Foerster,  of  the  University  of  Zurich,  still  advo- 
cates the  old  plan  of  reticence  on  this  subject.  He 
would  trust  to  the  development  of  a  kind  of  spiritual 
mastery  in  the  boy  and  girl  that  will  enable  them  to 
"  keep  the  body  under  "  when  adolescence  dawns, 
and  as  it  progresses.  This  spiritual  mastery  is  to 
be  attained  through  a  "  species  of  will-gymnastics." 
He  says :  — 

"  The  outstanding  feature  of  sexual  education 
should  not  be  an  explanation  of  the  sex  functions, 
but  an  introduction  to  the  inexhaustible  power  of  the 
human  spirit  and  its  capacity  for  dominating  the  ani- 
mal nature  and  controlling  its  demands. 

"  When  young  people  have  learned  to  appreciate 
the  joy  of  such  spiritual  mastery,  they  have  attained 
the  highest  possible  immunity  from  sexual  tempta- 
tions. I  have  often  found  pleasure  in  telling  boys 
entering  their  teens  the  story  of  Achilles  —  how  his 
mother  brought  him  up  among  girls,  dressed  as  a 
girl,  so  that  he  might  not  have  to  go  to  Troy  with  the 
other  Greek  youths ;  but  Ulysses  had  the  war  trum- 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  107 

pet  blown  before  the  palace  gates,  when  the  maidens 
all  fled  terrified  at  the  noise,  while  the  young 
Achilles  immediately  felt  for  his  sword.  In  the 
same  manner,  a  boy  of  character  will  not  show  him- 
self a  coward  when  the  animal  impulses  first  make 
themselves  felt,  but  will  at  once  take  to  arms  and 
realise  that  an  opportunity  has  been  given  him  to 
prove  and  perfect  his  courage. 

"  Young  people  are  practically  never  deaf  to  such 
an  appeal.  They  are  more  than  ready  to  receive 
Nietzsche's  words :  *  Do  not  cast  aside  the  heroic 
in  thy  soul !  ' 

"  In  addition,  I  should  like  to  say  that  this  species 
of  will-gymnastics  seems  to  me  to  be  quite  as  essen- 
tial in  the  education  of  girls  as  in  that  of  boys,  and 
for  the  special  reason  that  in  the  woman's  case  it  is 
necessary  to  work  against  the  tendency  towards  a 
life  of  one-sided  emotionalism.  It  is  only  by  a 
training  of  the  will  that  a  real  education  of  the  emo- 
tional life  can  be  accomplished.  Regular  practice 
in  the  controlling  of  bodily  conditions  and  outward 
distractions  prepares  the  way  for  a  mastery  of  the 
emotions  and  for  their  noblest  development;  it 
enables  them  to  become  independent  of  external  cir- 
cumstances, of  whims  and  moods,  and  to  acquire 
concentration,  force,  and  endurance.  Such  will- 
training  protects  a  woman  from  the  dangers  which 
arise  from  her  impulsiveness  and  suggestibility."  * 

1  Foerster,  Marriage  and  the  Sex  Problem,  trans,  by  M.  Booth, 
New  York,  1912,  pp.  177-178. 


108  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Much  of  this  is  true.  But  an  essential  part  of  the 
development  of  such  spiritual  mastery  in  the  child  is 
knowledge  of  himself.  If  he  be  informed  on  the 
nature  of  the  sex  functions,  and  of  the  consequences 
of  their  abuse,  he  will  be  more  able  to  develop,  and 
better  prepared  to  exercise,  that  spiritual  control 
which  is  so  desirable  and  so  necessary. 

To  all  this  biological  and  hygienic  instruction  must 
be  added  the  moral  and  spiritual  restraints  as  well. 
The  scientific  instruction  prepares  the  way  for  an 
impressive  moral  lesson.  It  is  well  to  call  attention 
to  the  duty  of  raising  the  bodily  organism  to  the 
highest  point  of  efficiency  as  it  conditions  all  other 
efficiency, —  mental,  social,  aesthetic,  moral,  and  re- 
ligious. He  who  violates  the  laws  of  his  bodily 
organism  sins  not  only  against  his  bodily  nature,  but 
against  his  whole  being,  as,  by  so  doing,  he  reduces 
its  total  efficiency.  Again,  the  individual  must  be 
made  to  realise  that  he  does  not  live  unto  himself 
alone  —  that  he  is  responsible  to  others  for  the  use 
of  his  energies.  Weakness  on  his  part  entails  weak- 
ness on  the  part  of  others  who  may  be  his  offspring. 
The  moral  aspects  of  the  case  ought  to  be  especially 
brought  out  with  pupils  of  the  eighth  grade.  They 
are  then  old  enough  to  profit  by  it.  In  all  this  the 
direct  method  must,  on  the  whole,  be  used. 

Christianity  recognises  our  moral  obligations  with 
reference  to  the  body.  Paul  pleads  for  its  moralisa- 
tion.  The  Corinthians  were  enjoined  by  him  to  re- 
nounce bodily  vices,  and  were  told  that  fornicators, 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  109 

adulterers,  and  drunkards  shall  not  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God.1  The  Galatians  were  exhorted  to 
11  walk  in  the  Spirit  ";  by  so  doing  "  they  would  not 
fulfill  the  lust  of  the  flesh."  Whatever  Paul  may 
have  meant  by  "  the  flesh,"  he  included  certain  bodily 
vices  among  "  the  works  of  the  flesh,"  such  as  adul- 
tery, fornication,  uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  and 
drunkenness.2  In  a  licentious  age  the  great  apos- 
tle called  the  attention  of  the  early  Christians  to  the 
fact  that  the  body  is  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
that  therefore  it  should  be  kept  pure.  "  Know  ye 
not,"  he  says,  "  that  your  body  is  a  temple  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have  from 
God?  "  3  He  tells  the  Corinthians  that  the  body  is 
not  for  impurity,  "  but  for  the  Lord;  and  the  Lord 
for  the  body."  4  He  regards  self-control  as  one  of 
the  fruits  of  the  spirit.5 

In  first  and  second  Peter  also  bodily  virtue  is  com- 
manded and  bodily  vice  condemned.  Christians  are 
asked  to  arm  themselves  against  fleshly  evils, —  las- 
civiousness, lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  etc.6 
The  writer  exhorts  them  to  add  to  their  faith  virtue; 
and  to  virtue  knowledge;  and  to  knowledge  self- 
control.7  He  speaks  of  the  punishment  of  the 
Lord  upon  those  "  that  walk  after  the  flesh  in  the 
lust  of  defilement." 8  In  short,  Christian  Ethics 
takes  a  lofty  view  of  the  bodily  life.     It  should  be 

1 1  Corinthians  v,  vi,  vii.  5  Galatians  v,  22-23. 

2  Galatians  v,  16  f.  6  I  Peter  iv,  1-4. 

3  I  Corinthians  vi,  19.  7  II  Peter  i,  5-6. 

4 1  Corinthians  vi,  13.  8  II  Peter  ii,  9-10. 


no  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

obedient  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  spirit.  It  is  also 
a  temple  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  We  should,  there- 
fore, have  regard  for  its  sacredness.  It  is  "  for  the 
Lord." 

According  to  the  sanest  ethical  teaching,  then, 
parents  and  teachers  should  make  the  matter  of 
"  body-building  "  a  matter  of  conscience  with  them- 
selves and  with  the  children  under  their  care.  To 
develop  a  wholesome  regard  for  bodily  well-being  is 
to  make  long  strides  in  moral  progress. 

In  concluding  these  chapters  on  the  bodily  life,  let 
us  recall  that  cleanliness,  self-control,  and  prudence 
in  the  regulation  of  all  the  bodily  appetites  and  in 
our  breathing  and  sleeping;  also  exercise,  physical 
courage,  and  temperance  —  these  are  the  virtues  re- 
lating to  the  bodily  life  that  we  should  teach  children 
both  in  the  home  and  in  the  school.  And  we  should 
guard  them  against  their  opposites,  the  correspond- 
ing vices.  This  should  be  done,  not  merely  inci- 
dentally, as  occasion  arises,  but  systematically.  A 
careful  study  of  their  relation  to  different  periods  of 
the  child's  growth  and  unfolding  should  be  made, 
and  then,  by  systematic  culture,  making  use  of  the 
hygienic,  moral,  and  religious  motives,  we  should 
seek  to  establish  children  in  these  important  virtues 
and  to  teach  them  to  shun  the  bodily  vices.  A 
graded  scheme  of  virtues  and  vices  to  be  dealt  with 
is  here  suggested: 


THE  BODILY  LIFE 


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ii2  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

In  her  efforts  to  establish  pupils  in  the  virtues  of 
the  bodily  life  by  means  of  the  indirect  method,  the 
teacher  will  find  the  following  stories  and  other  se- 
lections helpful : 

°  The  Doctor  and  Charlie  Daniels,"  "  Work,"  "  Betty's 
Garden  Party,"  "  Miss  Kate's  Mottoes,"  and  "  A  Boy  Who 
Saved  a  Soldier,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Green  Pastures,  The 
King's  Highway  Series.  (The  Macmillan  Company,  New 
York,  19 16.) 

"  The  Pig  Brother,"  "  Cleanliness,"  "  Billy's  Best  Friends 
Punish  Him,"  "  The  Man  at  the  Helm,"  "  A  Song  from  the 
Suds,"  "  A  Shepherd  Boy  and  a  Giant,"  "  The  Boy  Who 
Works,"  and  "  How  the  King  Was  Cured,"  from  The  Way 
of  the  Rivers,  The  King's  Highway  Series. 

"  The  Golden  Boy,"  "  The  Second  Match,"  and  "  Tom 
Coward,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Hills,  The  King's  High- 
way Series. 

"  The  Legend  of  St.  George,"  "  The  Loss  of  the  Drake," 
"  Thora,  an  Orkney  Girl,"  and  "  How  to  Keep  Well,"  from 
The  Way  of  the  Mountains,  The  King's  Highway  Series. 

"  A  Rill  from  the  Town  Pump,"  "  The  House  We  Live 
In,"  and  "  Walking  in  the  Open  Air,"  from  The  Way  of  the 
Stars,  The  King's  Highway  Series. 

"  The  Story  of  a  Poet  and  Story  Writer,"  "  Cyrus  and 
His  Grandfather,"  and  "  A  Fight  with  a  Demon,"  from 
The  Way  of  the  King's  Gardens,  The  King's  Highway 
Series. 

11  The  Story  of  the  Peasant  Poet,"  "  John  Barleycorn," 
"  A  Costly  Weed,"  and  "  Everybody's  Enemy,"  from  The 
Way  of  the  King's  Palace,  The  King's  Highway  Series. 

"  Billy,  Betty,  and  Ben  as  Soldiers,"  "  When  Betty  Closed 
the  Windows,"  "A  Brave  Boy,"  "The  Prince  and  the 
Lions,"  and  "  Foolish  Fear,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder  Book, 


THE  BODILY  LIFE  113 

Golden  Rule  Series.  (The  Macmillan  Company,  New 
York,  1913). 

"  The  Invaded  City,"  "  Feigned  Courage,"  "  The  Wolf 
and  the  Fox,"  "  Tending  the  Furnace,"  "  The  Camel's  Nose," 
"  A  Brave  Scot,"  "  Red  Stars  and  Black,"  "  The  School 
Picnic,"  and  "  The  Greedy  Antelope,"  from  The  Golden 
Path  Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"  The  Choice  of  Hercules,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book, 
Golden  Rule  Series. 

"The  Apostle  of  the  Lepers,"  and  "Billy's  Football 
Team,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"  Father  William,"  "  Billy's  Prize  Essay,"  "  The  Disen- 
thralled," and  "  The  Priest  and  the  Mulberry  Tree,"  from 
The  Golden  Word  Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"  The  Loss  of  the  Oceans  Pride"  "  A  Bard's  Epitaph," 
and  "  The  Boy  and  the  Cigarette,"  from  The  Golden  Deed 
Book,  Golden  Rule  Series. 

"  Three  Ways  to  Build  a  House,"  from  Tales  of  Laughter, 
by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin  and  Nora  Archibald  Smith.  "  The 
Little  Coward,"  by  Ann  and  Jane  Taylor. 

Charles  Kingsley's  Water  Babies,  Chapter  I.  "  The  In- 
fluence of  a  Clean  Face,"  by  Thomas  DeWitt  Talmadge,  in 
Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know,  edited  by  Mary  E.  Burt. 
11  The  Little  Bat  who  wouldn't  go  to  Bed,"  from  Among  the 
Forest  People,  by  Clara  D.  Pierson.  "  The  Rat  and  the 
Oyster,"  from  Talking  Beasts,  by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin  and 
Nora  Archibald  Smith.  The  Story  of  King  Arthur,  from 
Bulfinch's  Age  of  Chivalry. 

"  Friends  and  Foes,"  from  Down  to  the  Sea,  by  Wilfred 
T.  Grenfell.  "  Looking  out  for  the  Men  Ashore,"  from 
The  Harvest  of  the  Sea,  by  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell.  "  Circe's 
Palace,"  from  Hawthorne's  Tanglewood  Tales.  "  Why  He 
Failed,"  from  Stepping  Stones  to  Manhood,  by  William  P. 
Pearce. 


Apply  thy  heart  unto  instruction, 

And  thine  ears  to  the  words  of  knowledge. 

—  Proverbs  xxiii,    12. 

Let  each  man  prove  his  own  work. 

—  Galatians  vi,  4. 

Take  heed  therefore  how  ye  hear:  for  whosoever  hath,  to 
him  shall  be  given;  and  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him 
shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  thinketh  he 
hath. 

—  Luke  viii,   18. 

He  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be  saved. 

—  Matthew  x,   22. 

Let  patience  have  its  perfect  work. 

—  James  i,  4. 

And  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you 
free. 

—  John  viii,  32. 

So  teach  us  to  number  our  days, 

That  we  may  get  us   a  heart  of  wisdom. 

—  Psalm  xc,  12. 

Lord,    let    me    make    this    rule 
To  think  of  life  as  school, 

And  try  my  best 

To  stand  each  test, 

And  do  my  work, 

And    nothing    shirk. 

—  Maltbie  Davenport  Babcock. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   INTELLECTUAL   LIFE 

The  child  is  a  rational  being  with  capacities  to 
know.  It  is  his  duty  to  acquire  knowledge.  It  is  a 
duty  that  he  owes  to  himself  as  well  as  to  others. 
According  to  Professor  Adler,  the  teacher  can  best 
lead  him  to  a  recognition  of  this  duty  by  showing 
him  that  knowledge  is  a  means  to  nearly  all  the  ends 
at  which  men  aim.  This,  he  says,  might  be  illus- 
trated first  by  calling  attention  to  the  mere  material 
ends  of  life;  how  in  the  effort  to  provide  for  our 
most  immediate  wants,  such  as  those  of  the  body,  the 
man  of  knowledge  has  the  advantage  over  the  man 
of  ignorance.  He  who  knows  how  to  do  things  suc- 
ceeds where  he  who  is  ignorant  fails.  The  child  in 
the  upper  grades  at  least  is  sufficiently  self-centred 
to  appreciate  that  which  will  prove  an  advantage  to 
himself  in  the  struggle  for  existence  awaiting  him; 
hence  it  is  well  to  emphasise  the  advantages  of  knowl- 
edge and  the  handicaps  of  ignorance. 

But  gradually  the  higher  interests  of  the  child  can 
be  appealed  to  —  the  social  interests.  Knowledge 
is  a  means  to  social  recognition  and  position.  The 
child  soon  learns  that  he  is  not  to  be  merely  a  bread- 

"5 


n6  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

winner;  that  other  possibilities  are  open  to  him  by 
virtue  of  his  social  nature.  As  he  matures  he  grows 
sensitive  to  social  appreciation,  and  he  finds  that 
knowledge  is  a  means  to  social  esteem  and  distinc- 
tion. Ignorance  is  usually  rewarded  with  contempt, 
or  at  best  with  a  pity  that  humiliates  its  object. 
Furthermore,  at  an  age  when  the  child  is  in  the 
upper  grades  of  school,  he  begins  to  realise,  in  a 
more  or  less  pronounced  manner,  some  at  least  of 
the  joys  of  knowledge  —  joys  that  constitute  in 
themselves  a  sufficient  reward  for  the  labour  of  ac- 
quiring it.  And,  finally,  as  he  approaches  middle 
adolescence,  when  the  altruism  of  his  nature  is  very 
manifest,  the  service  that  knowledge  will  enable  him 
to  render  to  others  can  be  used  as  an  appeal  to  en- 
courage him  to  serious  effort  in  its  acquisition.1  In 
short,  the  more  the  child  can  be  made  to  realise  the 
truth  of  Bacon's  famous  maxim:  Knowledge  is 
Power  —  power  which  makes  in  every  way  for  the 
highest  self-realisation,  both  of  the  individual  and 
society  —  the  more  will  he  take  a  moral  attitude 
toward  its  acquisition. 

In  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  certain  habits  of 
will  and  forms  of  conduct  are  necessary  for  the  best 
results.  When  viewed  from  the  moral  standpoint 
they  become  virtues.  It  is  the  function  of  those  who 
teach  elementary  morals  to  establish  the  pupil  in 
these  virtues.     To  this  end,  we  must  know  what  they 

1  Compare  Adler,  The  Moral  Instruction  of  Children,  New  York, 
1901,  pp.  182-184. 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         117 

are,  something  about  their  nature,  and  how  they  can 
best  be  developed  in  the  child. 

The  first  virtue  which  naturally  suggests  itself  is 
industry.  Nothing  of  consequence  to  the  intellectual 
life  can  be  accomplished  without  this  cardinal  virtue. 
Earnest  and  systematic  application  of  the  intellectual 
powers  to  the  attainment  of  knowledge  is  essential 
to  success.  It  is  very  important  that  we  should 
begin  at  the  outset  to  develop  in  the  child  the 
power  of  systematic  and  steady  application  as 
against  sporadic  effort.  And,  in  doing  this,  a  funda- 
mental law  of  the  mind  will  greatly  assist  us  in  our 
work.  This  law  is  the  law  of  human  interest.  This 
interest  must  be  maintained  and  increased.  It  must 
be  converted  into  voluntary  interest.  If  we  can  gen- 
uinely interest  the  child  in  the  subject  with  which  we 
desire  him  to  be  concerned,  industry  will  follow 
naturally.  This  is  a  psychological  law  which  we 
must  recognise,  and  so  far  as  we  ignore  it  our  efforts 
will  not  prove  fruitful.  To  develop  such  interest  it 
is  necessary  to  make  the  lesson  attractive;  it  must  be 
in  some  manner  pleasing.  Now  if  the  matter  of  in- 
dustry is  to  be  brought  before  the  child  as  a  moral 
obligation,  it  should  be  presented  here  also  in  an  in- 
teresting manner.  The  advantages  and  rewards  of 
industry,  and  the  disadvantages  and  penalties  of  in- 
dolence, as  mentioned  above,  should  be  brought  to 
his  attention  in  a  manner  that  will  appeal  to  the  child, 
and  no  better  method  can  be  adopted  than  the  story 
method.     Children  delight  in  stories  of  achievement, 


n8  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

and  to  read  or  tell  stories  of  rewarded  labour  and 
of  punished  indolence  on  the  part  of  children  will 
not  fail  to  interest  them  and  tends  to  lead  them  to 
practice  this  prime  virtue  of  the  intellectual  life. 

A  second  important  virtue  of  the  intellectual  life 
is  accuracy.  Accurate  perception,  accurate  memoris- 
ing, accurate  thinking,  accurate  reasoning,  and  accu- 
rate speaking  are  necessary  for  the  best  intellectual 
development.  If  one  of  the  ends  of  such  develop- 
ment is  knowledge  of  the  truth,  such  accuracy,  of 
course,  is  an  essential  condition.  This  matter  should 
be  made,  as  far  as  possible,  not  merely  an  intellectual 
obligation  with  the  pupil,  but  a  moral  obligation  as 
well.  It  is  a  matter  of  honesty  with  himself  and 
honesty  with  others.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  moral  in- 
difference. Indeed  we  will  find  that  training  the 
child  in  intellectual  accuracy,  or  indulgence  in  intel- 
lectual inaccuracy,  will  have  an  important  influence 
on  his  moral  nature.  Intellectual  accuracy  is  closely 
related  to  truthfulness  and  honesty;  and  intellectual 
inaccuracy  is  closely  related  to  falsehood  and  dis- 
honesty. 

But  how  shall  this  virtue  of  accuracy  be  cultivated? 
We  should  call  attention  to  the  serious  consequences 
of  inaccuracy  by  having  the  child  read  some  story  of 
real  life,  such  as  the  wreck  of  a  railroad  train,  with 
its  loss  of  life,  due  to  the  inaccuracy  of  the  man  who 
framed  the  time  schedule,  or  to  the  inaccuracy  of  a 
telegraph  operator,  or  of  a  train  despatcher.  Or,  a 
story  involving  serious  loss  in  financial  matters,  due 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         119 

to  inaccurate  calculation,  may  be  used.  Or,  to  bring 
the  subject  closer  home,  a  story  of  the  loss  of  a  school 
prize  because  of  inaccurate  work.  The  rewards  and 
honours  of  accuracy  must  be  emphasised  in  a  similar 
manner.  With  older  children  the  importance  of  ac- 
curacy should  be  especially  dwelt  upon;  for,  since  the 
large  majority  of  them  enter  upon  their  vocational 
life  after  leaving  the  elementary  schools,  the  signifi- 
cance of  intellectual  accuracy  in  all  industrial  and 
commercial  life  can  be  presented  at  this  time  with  ex- 
cellent effect.  The  primary  aim  of  intellectual  de- 
velopment is  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  inac- 
curate knowledge  is  a  paradox.  It  is  not  knowledge 
at  all,  it  makes  against  knowledge.  Error  is  the 
result  of  inaccuracy,  and  error  is  a  serious  intellectual 
evil  which  is  often  closely  related  to  moral  evil. 

In  dealing  with  inaccuracy  it  will  be  found  that  it 
is  often  due  to  another  evil,  namely,  carelessness. 
In  some  respects,  indeed,  it  is  a  form  of  carelessness. 
Such  carelessness  easily  becomes  habitual  and  should 
be  vigorously  taken  in  hand.  It  should  be  corrected, 
not  merely  as  an  intellectual  expediency,  but  as  a 
moral  obligation  as  well. 

Thoroughness,  though  closely  related  to  accuracy, 
differs  from  it.  One  may  be  accurate  as  far  as  he 
pursues  a  subject  and  yet  not  be  thorough  in  dealing 
with  it.  Thoroughness  leads  to  mastery  of  a  sub- 
ject, and  is  a  prime  virtue  of  the  intellectual  life. 
The  child  should  be  taught  to  master  his  lessons. 
If  he  be  once  convinced  that  knowledge  is  power, 


120  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

as  explained  above,  it  is  easy  to  show  him  that 
thorough  knowledge  is  still  greater  power;  it  will  be 
easier  to  lead  him  to  an  appreciation  of  the  moral 
attitude  toward  this  intellectual  quality,  and  he  will 
soon  see  the  value  and  obligation  of  thoroughness  as 
a  virtue,  and  the  evil  consequences  of  its  opposite. 
According  to  the  old  adage :  "  What  is  worth  doing 
at  all  is  worth  doing  well  ";  and  if  the  child  sees  the 
advantage  of  so  doing,  and  the  disadvantages  of  the 
opposite,  our  task  of  cultivating  this  virtue  will  be 
greatly  lightened.  Well-selected  stories  will  assist 
greatly  in  accomplishing  this  end. 

Perseverance  is  another  requisite  in  the  intellectual 
life.  The  child  is  often  easily  discouraged.  Fre- 
quently the  task  is  hard,  or  it  is  more  or  less  unpleas- 
ant, and  it  requires  persistent  effort  to  accomplish  it. 
"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be 
saved  "  *  is  as  true  intellectually  as  it  is  spiritually. 
To  develop  a  spirit  of  perseverance  is  part  of  our 
work  as  teachers  of  elementary  morals.  To 
strengthen  the  child's  resolution  to  conquer  difficul- 
ties, to  overcome  obstacles,  this  is  part  of  our  office. 
He  should  be  encouraged  to  persist  by  calling  his  at- 
tention to  the  delights  of  triumph,  the  glory  of  vic- 
tory, the  rewards  of  success.  "  To  the  persevering 
mortal  the  blessed  Immortals  are  swift,"  says  Zoro- 
aster. But  not  only  do  the  Immortals  honour  him, 
but  mortals  also  bestow  on  him  their  approval  and 
esteem.     These  are  among  the  sweetest  rewards  of 

1  Matthew  x,   22. 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         121 

perseverance,  and  the  child  will  be  influenced  by 
them.  The  moral  aspects  of  perseverance  will  soon 
be  perceived  by  him  under  such  circumstances. 
Splendid  examples  of  men,  women,  and  children  who 
have  succeeded  through  perseverance,  not  only  in  the 
intellectual  but  also  in  other  spheres  of  human  activ- 
ity, are  available  for  the  development  of  this  virtue. 
Patience  is  necessary  for  persistence  as  well  as  for 
the  realisation  of  other  intellectual  virtues.  This 
virtue,  which  the  New  Testament  writers  commend 
so  highly,  in  the  pursuit  of  the  spiritual  calling,  is  a 
princely  virtue  in  our  intellectual  pursuits.  Michael 
Angelo  once  said  that  genius  is  infinite  capacity  for 
taking  pains.  Some  capacity  for  taking  pains  is  nec- 
essary for  any  genuine  intellectual  work,  and  this 
means  that  we  must  have  patience.  In  the  child's 
desire  to  realise  immediate  results  he  often  grows 
impatient.  He  does  not  like  to  bother  with  the 
means,  time,  and  effort  necessary  to  accomplish  his 
task.  A  short  cut  is  his  preference.  But  a  short 
cut  to  the  goal  is  often  impossible,  and  the  child 
must  be  developed  in  patience  with  slow  progress  and 
in  dealing  with  hard  and  sometimes  not  altogether 
agreeable  tasks.  Here  again,  in  endeavouring  to 
cultivate  a  moral  attitude  toward  this  important 
requisite  in  the  intellectual  life,  we  must  have  due 
regard  to  the  child's  interests.  If  we  can  pleasantly 
relate  this  virtue  to  his  work  by  pointing  out  its  bear- 
ings on  the  interests  which  he  highly  prizes,  and  the 
interests  which,  in  his  further  development,  he  will 


122  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

prize  still  more,  then  he  will  respond  more  readily 
to  the  demands  for  patience  which  his  immediate 
work  makes  upon  him.  It  is,  of  course,  very  impor- 
tant that  the  parent  and  teacher  be  on  their  guard  in 
trying  to  establish  children  in  the  virtue  of  patience. 
There  is  a  strong  temptation  to  become  impatient 
with  the  child's  impatience.  To  learn  to  wait  is 
difficult  for  the  child  and  it  is  difficult  for  the  parent 
and  teacher  to  wait  for  the  child  to  acquire  this  virtue. 
In  dealing  with  this  virtue  self-discipline  is  demanded 
of  those  in  charge  of  the  training  of  the  young. 
One  must  rule  one's  own  spirit  if  he  would  be  success- 
ful in  helping  children  to  rule  their's.  Parents  prob- 
ably err  here  more  frequently  than  teachers.  Com- 
monplace as  may  be  the  exhortation  about  the  power 
of  example,  parents  and  teachers  should  remind 
themselves  over  and  over  again  that  they  should  be 
models  of  patience.  If  they  fail  to  prove  such 
models,  they  will  soon  become  aware  of  the  truth  of 
Locke's  words:  "111  patterns  are  sure  to  be  fol- 
lowed more  than  good  rules."  If  we  can  re-enforce 
the  lesson  of  patience  illustrated  in  a  good  story  by 
the  example  of  patience  illustrated  in  the  life  of 
parent  or  teacher  the  lesson  becomes  more  than 
doubly  effective.  Where  the  vice  abounds  such 
teaching  will  be  transforming  in  its  power. 

Self-reliance  will  be  recognised  at  once  as  another 
virtue  of  paramount  importance  in  developing  the 
intellectual  life.  Childhood  is  a  period  of  depend- 
ence, and  from  birth,  for  many  years,  the  child  is 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         123 

largely  dependent  upon  others  for  much  that  con- 
cerns his  fundamental  interests.  This  develops  a 
tendency  to  rely  upon  others  in  matters  in  which  he 
is  capable  of  helping  himself.  It  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  therefore,  that  in  the  difficulties  which  he 
encounters  in  school  in  his  efforts  at  self-develop- 
ment, under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher,  when  he 
confronts  a  difficult  task  that  he  should  resort  to  the 
teacher,  or  to  his  more  proficient  schoolmates,  or  to 
his  parents,  for  help.  This  tendency  is  so  marked 
and  widespread  among  children  that  its  correction 
becomes  a  serious  problem.  No  child  should  be  al- 
lowed to  go  through  school  constantly  leaning  on 
others  for  support.  If  there  be  no  other  way  of  cur- 
ing him  of  his  dependence,  he  should  be  shamed  out 
of  it  if  possible.  Self-reliance  is  such  a  necessary 
virtue  that  the  parent  and  teacher  can  afford  to  put 
forth  special  effort  to  cultivate  it  in  the  child.  We 
can  largely  measure  the  individual's  success  or  failure 
in  every  walk  of  life  by  means  of  this  virtue.  "  Wel- 
come evermore  to  gods  and  men  is  the  self-helping 
man.  For  him  all  doors  are  flung  wide.  Him  all 
tongues  greet,  all  honours  crown,  all  eyes  follow  with 
desire."  These  words  of  Emerson  are  not  really 
extravagant,  and  in  teaching  the  child  to  form  the 
habit  of  self-reliance  we  should  show  him  that  they 
are  true.  Especially  in  the  upper  grades  a  presenta- 
tion of  the  virtue  illustrated  in  the  lives  of  self-re- 
liant men  and  women,  not  only  in  intellectual  pur- 
suits, but  in  others  also,  cannot  fail  to  have  a  salutary 


124  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

effect.  Short  biographical  sketches  of  such  men  and 
women  will  prove  very  effective. 

Love  of  truth  is  a  virtue  that  ought  to  be  devel- 
oped in  all.  It  pertains  more  especially  to  more  ma- 
ture years  than  to  those  with  which  we  are  dealing. 
However,  even  here,  and  especially  in  the  upper 
grades,  it  might  be  fittingly  dealt  with.  Children  are 
partisans  and  dogmatists.  Their  partisanship  is 
strong,  and  their  dogmatism  instinctive  and  naive. 
Attention  should  be  called  to  the  dangers  of  our  in- 
tellectual life  of  prejudice  and  unwarranted  assump- 
tion. It  can  be  shown  how  this  frequently  leads  us 
into  error,  which  of  course  is  opposed  to  one  of  the 
chief  ends  we  aim  at  in  intellectual  development, 
namely,  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  Prejudice,  even 
in  the  child,  is  often  so  subtle  that  it  is  not  an  easy 
vice  to  deal  with;  but  the  fact  that  it  exists  more  or 
less  in  all  should  not  be  overlooked,  and  it  is  well  to 
treat  of  it,  not  merely  as  an  intellectual  fault,  but  also 
as  a  moral  fault. 

But  finally,  knowledge  is  not  an  end  in  itself;  it  is 
a  means  to  an  end,  and  the  ultimate  end  is  the  highest 
well-being  of  the  individual  and  society.  So  that  an- 
other virtue  belongs  to  the  intellectual  life,  and  that 
virtue  is  wisdom.  It  is  a  virtue  commended  by  sages 
and  philosophers.  Wisdom  is  the  right  use  of 
knowledge,  such  as  will  make  for  the  realisation  of 
the  highest  good.  It  is  not  the  gift  of  the  gods,  but, 
like  other  virtues,  is  an  acquisition,  a  development. 
It  is  the  result  of  reflection  and  discipline.     We  do 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         125 

not  look  for  much  wisdom  in  the  child,  for  he  natu- 
rally acts  with  reference  to  immediate  rather  than 
ultimate  ends.  Wisdom  is  pre-eminently  a  virtue  of 
maturer  years,  and,  in  its  stricter  meaning,  can  hardly 
be  dealt  with  except  with  older  children.  But  we  can 
at  least  teach  the  child  that  knowledge  is  power  to 
be  used  for  worthy  ends  —  for  such  good  ends  as 
pertain  to  the  bodily,  social,  moral,  and  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  himself  and  society;  and  in  doing  this  we 
must,  of  course,  represent  these  ends  in  the  most  con- 
crete manner  possible,  and  in  accordance  with  inter- 
ests as  they  bear  on  his  life  at  the  particular  period 
with  which  we  are  dealing.  Examples  of  wise  and 
foolish  action  should  be  used  in  dealing  with  this 
virtue  and  its  opposite. 

Of  all  the  institutions  that  have  to  do  with  child- 
life  the  school  is  the  one  primarily  in  charge  of  his 
intellectual  training.  Hence  a  great  responsibility 
with  reference  to  the  development  of  these  virtues 
rests  upon  the  teacher.  Of  course  much  is  done  by 
way  of  training  the  child  in  the  intellectual  virtues  in 
connection  with  the  regular  work  of  the  school.  But 
this  should  be  supplemented  by  systematic  instruction 
according  to  the  story  method.  Parents  also  should 
appreciate  their  part  in  this  responsibility.  They, 
too,  should  encourage  the  child  to  cultivate  the  vir- 
tues of  industry,  accuracy,  thoroughness,  persever- 
ance, patience,  self-reliance,  love  of  truth,  and  wis- 
dom. They  condition  his  intellectual  progress,  and 
he  should  be  taught  to  develop  a  moral  attitude 


126  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

toward  his  school  work.  Co-operation  between  par- 
ent and  teacher  is  highly  desirable  in  establishing  the 
child  in  the  virtues  of  the  intellectual  life. 

In  dealing  with  these  virtues  and  the  corresponding 
vices  the  following  graded  scheme  will  be  found 
helpful : 

Virtues  Grade 

i.  Industry  I  H  m  rv  V  VI 

2.  Accuracy  I  n  m  iv  V  VI 

3.  Thoroughness  I  II  HI  IV  V  VI 

A    PerseveranrP    $  a'    In   a   hard   task 

4.  Perseverance  {  b    Jn  an  unpleasant  m  Iy  y  yi 

task 
(a.  With  slow  progress 

5.  Patience  {  b.  In  hard  work  III  IV  V  VI 

[  c.  In  unpleasant  work 

6.  Self-reliance  III  iv  V  VI 

7.  Love  of  truth  and  knowledge  VII  VIII 

8.  Wisdom  —  right  use  of  knowledge  VII  VIII 


Vices  Grade 


1.  Indolence  I  II  III  IV  V  VI 

2.  Inaccuracy  I  II  HI  IV  V  VI 

3.  Superficiality  {*  $j£^ing  ?nd  notI  „  m  Iy  y  yI 

understanding 

4.  Instability  — lack  of  perseverance  III  IV  V  VI 

f  a.  With  slow  progress 

5.  Impatience    {  b.  In  hard  work 

[  c.  In  unpleasant  work  III  IV  V  VI 

6.  Undue  dependence  upon  others  III  IV  V  VI 

7.  Prejudice  \  f  ^judging 

I  b.  Seeing  what  we  want  to  see, 

and  not  the  facts  — bias  VII  VIII 

8.  Foolishness  —  wrong  use  of  knowledge  VII  VIII 

The  following  list  of  stories  and  selections  will  be 
found  helpful  in  this  connection: 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         127 

"  How  Rex  Did  His  Best,"  "  A  Song  of  School,"  "  The 
Hard  Lesson,"  "  Going  to  School,"  "  An  Emperor  in  School," 
"  The  Story  of  Richard  Whittington,"  and  "  The  Fun  of 
Not  Going  to  School,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Green  Pastures. 

"A  Mother's  Story,"  "How  the  Birds  Build  Their 
Nests,"  "  The  Courage  Country,"  "  The  Story  of  Daniel," 
and  "  The  Jack-O'-Lantern,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Rivers. 

"  The  Golden  Boy,"  "  The  Water  Lily,"  "  The  Second 
Match,"  and  "Tom  Coward,"  from  The  Way  of  the 
Bills. 

"  The  Venerable  Bede,"  "  Field  Teachers,"  and  "  Find  a 
Way  or  Make  It,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Mountains. 

"The  Merchant,"  "Franklin's  Boyhood,"  and  "Little 
Dafrydowndilly,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Stars. 

"  An  Ambitious  Youth,"  "  A  Truth  Seeker,"  and  "  The 
Great  Reformer,"  from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Gardens. 

"  A  Great  American  —  A  Man  of  Wisdom,"  "  The  Fa- 
mous Rugby  Master,"  and  "  A  Lover  of  Knowledge,"  from 
The  Way  of  the  King's  Palace. 

"  To  Mother  Fairie,"  "  The  Cat  and  the  Fox,"  "  Daffy- 
down-Dilly,"  "  How  Audubon  Came  to  Know  About  Birds," 
"  The  Ant  and  the  Cricket,"  "  Climbing  Alone,"  "  Work," 
"  The  Little  Spider's  First  Web,"  "  Little  by  Little,"  and 
"  The  Story  of  a  Sea  Gull,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder 
Book. 

"  The  Black  Prince  at  the  Battle  of  Crecy,"  "  The  Village 
Blacksmith,"  "  The  Snail  and  the  Rose  Tree,"  "  The  Cadmus 
of  the  Blind,"  "  The  Builders,"  "  Haarlem's  Boy  Hero," 
"  Waste  Not,  Want  Not,"  "  Blunder,"  and  "  Sir  Lark  and 
King  Sun,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  The  School  Children's  Friend,"  "  The  Waste  Collector," 
"  Ben  Franklin's  Wharf,"  "  Columbus,"  "  The  Ants  and  the 
Grasshopper,"  "  Industry  of  Animals,"  "  Napoleon  and  the 
Alps,"  "  Arachne,  the  Boastful,"  "  A  Scottish  Champion," 


128  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

"  Buckwheat,"  "  Pietro  da  Gortona,"  and  "  Miles  Standish," 
from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"  Louis  Pasteur,"  "  Robert  Fulton,"  "  The  Lion  and  the 
Cub,"  and  "  Jean  Louis  Rodolphe  Agassiz,"  from  The 
Golden  Key  Book. 

"The  Glove  and  the  Lions,"  "Two  Kings,"  "Lady 
Clare,"  and  "  If  I  Were  a  Voice,"  from  The  Golden  Word 
Book. 

"  Ozymandias,"  and  "  The  Great  Stone  Face,"  from  The 
Golden  Deed  Book. 

11  The  Industrious  Mannikins,"  by  Grimm.  "  The  Two 
Gardens,"  by  Ann  Taylor.  "  The  Pot  of  Gold,"  from  Chil- 
dren's Classics  in  Dramatic  Form,  Book  II,  by  Augusta 
Stevenson.  "  The  Nail,"  by  Grimm.  "  The  India-rubber 
Man,"  from  Stories  of  Great  Americans,  by  Edward  Eggles- 
ton.  "  The  Hill,"  from  The  Golden  Windows,  by  Laura 
E.  Richards. 

"  How  the  Camel  Got  His  Hump,"  from  Just  So  Stories, 
by  Rudyard  Kipling.  Grimm's  "  The  Spindle,  the  Needle, 
and  the  Shuttle."  "  Story  of  Prometheus,  Chapter  VII  of 
The  Water  Babies.  "  Boots  and  his  Brothers,"  from  Folk 
Stories  and  Fables,  arranged  by  Eva  March  Tappan. 
i^Esop's  "  The  Hare  and  the  Tortoise."  Story  of  Helen 
Keller.  "  The  Monkey  and  the  Cat,"  from  The  Talking 
Beasts.  "  The  Boot-black  from  Ann  Street,"  from  James 
Baldwin's  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds. 

"  Chin-Chin  Kobakama,"  from  Tales  of  Laughter.  "  The 
King  and  his  Three  Sons,"  in  Stories  from  the  Classic  Liter- 
ature of  Many  Lands,  edited  by  Bertha  Palmer.  "  The 
Sailor  Man,"  from  The  Golden  Windows.  "  The  Eagles," 
from  William  J.  Long's  Wilderness  Ways,  p.  104.  "  A  Lin- 
coln Story,"  by  U.  S.  Grant,  in  Prose  Every  Child  Should 
Know.  Longfellow's  "  Excelsior."  "  The  King  and  his 
Hawk,"  in  Fifty  Famous  Stories  Retold,  by  James  Baldwin. 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE         129 

"  The  Brave  Martinel,"  from  Charlotte  M.  Yonge's  Book 
of  Golden  Deeds. 

Story  of  the  Doasyoulikes,  Chapter  VI  of  The  Water 
Babies.  "  Prince  Vivien  and  Princess  Placida,"  from  An- 
drew Lang's  Green  Fairy  Book.  Story  of  Sir  Thomas 
Moore.  "  Lady  Eleanor's  Mantle,"  by  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne. "  The  Fool's  Prayer,"  by  Edward  Roland  Sill. 
"  The  Watering  of  the  Saplings,"  in  Stories  from  the  Classic 
Literature  of  Many  Lands. 


Children,   obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord:  for  this   is   right. 

—  Ephesians  vi,    i. 

Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother. 

—  Exodus  xx,    12. 

He  that  uttereth  truth  showeth  forth  righteousness. 

—  Proverbs  xii,  17. 

I   hate   every  false   way. 

—  Psalm   cxix,    128. 

Even  a  child  maketh  himself  known  by  his  doings, 
Whether  his  work  be  pure,  and  whether  it  be  right. 

—  Proverbs  xx,  11. 

Hatred  stirreth  up  strifes; 

But  love  covereth  all  transgressions. 

—  Proverbs  x,   12. 

Behold,  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is 
For  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity ! 

—  Psalm  cxxxiii,  1. 

It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive. 

—  Acts  xx,   35. 

He  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  cannot 
love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen. 

—  /  John  iv,  20. 

Unselfish  living,  which  is  so  nearly  the  sum  of  moral  living, 
is  almost  exclusively  confined  to  family  life.  Here  the 
unselfish  life  is  almost  a  matter  of  course.  It  is  this 
fact  which  gives  the  family  its  importance  as  a  moral 
institution. 

—  Professor  Borden  P.  Bovrne. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    SOCIAL    LIFE THE    FAMILY 

The  child  is  by  nature  a  social  being,  and,  as  such, 
he  sustains  a  variety  of  relations  to  others  constituted 
like  himself.  He  is  not  like  the  famous  Crusoe, 
alone  on  an  island,  working  out  his  destiny  regardless 
of  his  fellows.  He  is  born  into  society,  and  from 
birth  till  death  he  is  hemmed  in  by  a  network  of  so- 
cial relations.  All  these  relations  come  under  the 
moral  ideal,  and  are  subject  to  moral  law.  Hence, 
duties  in  the  social  sphere  are  as  manifold  and  com- 
plex as  social  relations  themselves.  It  is  in  this 
sphere  that  he  finds  his  largest  field  of  moral  activity. 

Certain  institutions  are  the  outgrowth  of  our  social 
nature,  such  as  the  family,  the  school,  and  the  com- 
munity organised  under  custom  and  law.  The  child 
realises  his  largest  life  and  his  best  self  through  these 
institutions.  With  one  or  more  he  is  in  constant  in- 
teraction, and  these  interactions  are  governed  by 
moral  law.  They  involve  moral  obligations.  In 
other  words,  duty  is  associated  with  all  family,  school, 
and  community  life. 

In  treating  of  morality  and  religion  in  the  social 
sphere  it  is  well  to  follow  the  natural  order.  The 
child  is  born  into  the  family,  and  his  first  interactions 

131 


132  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

are  with  father  and  mother,  with  sister  and  brother. 
Certain  moral  obligations  grow  out  of  these  relations, 
the  observance  of  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
the  best  development  of  the  family  as  well  as  for  the 
best  development  of  the  individual,  such  as  obedience, 
truthfulness,  honesty,  kindness,  courtesy,  love,  etc. 
Indeed,  the  family  could  not  exist  at  all  without  real- 
ising, to  some  degree  at  least,  these  obligations. 
The  corresponding  vices  make  for  its  destruction. 

The  family  is  a  great  moral  institution,  and  its 
value  for  the  idealisation  or  moralisation  of  society 
cannot  be  overestimated.  It  is  here  that  the  indi- 
vidual learns  his  first  moral  lessons,  and  is  thus  pre- 
pared for  the  larger  social  and  moral  life  of  the 
school,  the  community,  and  the  state.  It  is  here,  for 
example,  that  he  first  becomes  conscious  of  the  exist- 
ence of  laws  that  govern  human  action,  and  is  coun- 
selled and  warned  to  conform  to  them.  For  a  time 
the  parents'  command  is  law  to  his  will.  He  learns 
the  lesson  of  obedience,  and  when  he  emerges  from 
the  family  into  the  community,  he  is  in  a  measure 
prepared  to  obey  the  commands  of  the  community 
which  come  to  him  in  the  form  of  conventions  and 
customs,  and  also  those  of  the  state,  which  come  to 
him  in  the  form  of  statutes  or  laws.  And  as  obedi- 
ence to  his  parents'  command  gradually  takes  on 
more  and  more  of  a  moral  character,  the  way  is  pre- 
pared for  the  child's  recognition  of  obedience  to 
social  custom  and  to  civil  and  political  laws,  not 
merely  as  a  matter  of  compulsion  or  necessity,  but  as 


THE  FAMILY  133 

a  matter  of  moral  obligation.  And  what  is  true  of 
the  obligation  of  obedience  is  practically  true  of  all 
other  social  obligations.  The  child's  moral  relations 
to  the  family  prepare  him  for  his  moral  relations  to 
society. 

One  of  the  fundamental  virtues  growing  out  of  the 
child's  family  relations  is  obedience.  The  parent  is 
both  the  natural  and  legal  guardian  of  the  child.  As 
such  he  is  responsible  for  its  well-being.  To  this 
end  his  will  becomes  law  to  the  child,  and  it  is  the 
child's  duty  to  obey.  It  is  unfortunate  that,  in  the 
imperfect  state  of  society,  the  parents'  will  is,  in  so 
many  instances,  unworthy.  Still,  until  the  child 
reaches  a  certain  age  and  a  certain  state  of  maturity, 
it  is,  as  a  rule,  his  duty  to  obey.  This  age  and  state 
hardly  occur  before  the  fifteenth  year.  Hence  this 
virtue  may  be  categorically  affirmed  in  dealing  with 
children.  It  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  existence 
of  the  home.  There  could  be  no  home  without  it. 
More  or  less  unity  and  harmony  are  necessary  to  con- 
stitute a  home.  This  means  that  law  must  prevail, 
and  the  law  is  the  parents'  will.  Disobedience  to  it 
means  lawlessness,  and  gross  and  constant  disobedi- 
ence means  social  chaos  or  anarchy  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  home,  and  the  defeat  of  the  moral  ends 
which  the  home  should  realise.  Such  filial  obedience 
is  an  important  factor  in  the  child's  moral  unfolding. 
It  develops  self-control,  a  most  essential  virtue,  as  we 
have  already  seen  in  considering  the  moralisation  of 
the  bodily  life;  and  the  more  worthy  the  parents' 


i34  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

commands,  the  sooner  is  obedience  followed  by  re- 
spect and  reverence  for  the  law  and  the  lawgiver, 
respect  that  is  highly  desirable,  and  the  development 
of  which  should  become  one  of  the  ends  aimed  at  by 
parent  and  teacher.  Furthermore,  as  already  ob- 
served, a  training  in  family  obedience  prepares  the 
child  for  a  larger  and  more  vital  obedience  in  his  in- 
teraction with  the  school,  community,  and  state.  It 
makes  for  good  citizenship,  for  the  practice  and  love 
of  social  order.  So  also  does  it  prepare  the  way  for 
that  period  of  development  in  youth  when  the  indi- 
vidual awakens  to  the  consciousness  that  he  is  a  law- 
giver unto  himself  —  when,  in  the  maturer  exercise 
of  his  functions  as  a  moral  personality,  he  evaluates 
ideals  of  conduct,  and  imposes  them  upon  himself  as 
laws  to  his  will. 

It  ought  not  to  be  such  a  difficult  matter  to  secure 
obedience  on  the  part  of  the  child  as  it  sometimes 
proves.  By  virtue  of  his  race  connection  the  child 
is  predisposed  to  obey.  As  far  back  as  we  can  trace 
the  history  of  man  he  has  existed  under  some  form 
of  organised  life,  which  means  that  he  has  been  sub- 
ject to  command  or  law.  The  child  has  this  back- 
ground of  the  race  as  a  kind  of  inheritance,  and  there- 
fore he  comes  into  being  with  a  predisposition  to 
obey.  Referring  to  Dr.  Montessori,  Dorothy  Can- 
field  Fisher  says :  — 

"  She  tells  us  just  as  forcibly  that  the  children  pre- 
fer right,  orderly,  disciplined  behaviour  to  the  un- 
regulated disobedience  which  we  slanderously  insist 


THE  FAMILY  135 

is  their  natural  taste.  As  a  result  of  her  scientific 
and  unbiased  observation  of  child  life  she  informs  us 
that  our  usual  lack  of  success  in  handling  the  prob- 
lems of  obedience  comes  because,  while  we  do  not 
expect  a  child  at  two  or  three  or  even  four  to  have 
mastered  completely  even  the  elements  of  any  other 
of  his  activities,  we  do  expect  him  to  have  mastered 
all  the  complex  muscular,  nervous,  mental,  and  moral 
elements  involved  in  the  act  of  obedience  to  a  com- 
mand from  outside  his  own  individuality. 

"  She  points  out  that  obedience  is  evidently  a  deep- 
rooted  instinct  in  human  nature,  since  society  is 
founded  on  obedience.  Indeed,  on  the  whole,  his- 
tory seems  to  show  that  the  average  human  being 
has  altogether  too  much  native  instinct  to  obey  any 
one  who  will  shout  out  a  command;  and  that  the  ad- 
vance from  one  bad  form  of  government  to  another 
only  slightly  better  is  so  slow  because  the  mass  of 
grown  men  are  too  much  given  to  obeying  almost  any 
positive  order  issued  to  them.  Going  back  to  our 
surprised  recognition  of  the  child  as  an  inheritor  of 
human  nature  in  its  entirety,  we  must  admit  that  obe- 
dience is  almost  certainly  an  instinct  latent  in  chil- 
dren." 1 

Another  fundamental  virtue  of  family  life  is  truth- 
fulness. No  family  could  exist  on  the  basis  of  a  lie. 
Truth  is  necessary  to  hold  human  society  together  in 
any  kind  of  relation  that  is  worth  while.  Truth  in 
speech,  truth  in  action,  "  truth  in  the  inward  parts," 

1  Fisher,  A  Montessori  Mother,  New  York,  1912,  pp.  159,  160. 


136  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

—  these  must  be  developed  in  the  child,  and  this  is 
no  easy  task.  It  is  often  difficult  to  determine  what 
is  really  a  lie  in  the  child's  conduct.  Our  moral  and 
religious  training  ought  to  rest  upon  a  careful  study 
of  the  psychology  of  children's  lies.  Parents  and 
teachers  should  study  the  psychology  of  fancy  as  it 
functions  in  the  child;  of  illusions,  of  make-believe, 
or  the  tendency  to  dramatic  action  so  characteristic 
of  children.  This  will  at  least  save  them  from  what 
is  too  often  a  severe  and  unjust  judgment  in  regard 
to  the  child.1  They  should  also  carefully  consider 
the  pathology  of  lying,  which  will  increase  their  char- 
itableness. But  after  making  all  allowance  for  what 
may  not  really  be  regarded  as  lying,  children  do  lie 
in  a  really  ethical  sense,  and  often  with  amazing  ease 
and  unconcern.  So  that  the  matter  of  truth  telling, 
which  is  so  vital  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the 
family,  should  be  tactfully  but  vigorously  dealt  with. 
The  subject  of  truthfulness  is  referred  to  again  in 
the  chapters  dealing  with  the  morals  of  the  school 
and  the  community.  What  is  said  there  will  apply 
also  to  the  home.  So  far  as  parents  and  teachers 
deal  with  this  virtue  as  it  relates  to  the  family,  they 
cannot  be  too  careful.  One  of  the  best  methods 
here  is  the  indirect  method.  Let  the  children  read 
stories  of  family  life,  which  bring  out  the  rewards  of 
truthfulness  and  the  penalties  of  lying,  and  let  the 

1  Parents  and  teachers  should  read  the  remarks  on  children's 
lies  in  Sully's  Studies  in  Childhood,  New  York,  1890,  p.  25if.,  and 
in  Hall's  Educational  Problems,  Vol.  I,  Chapter  VI,  and  the  litera- 
ture to  which  they  refer. 


THE  FAMILY  137 

teacher  be  sure  that  every  child  thoroughly  appre- 
hends the  import  of  such  stories.  She  should  also 
try  to  strengthen  the  impression  made  by  narrating 
one  or  more  stories  of  a  character  similar  to  those 
read  in  the  class. 

Honesty  is  a  third  virtue  which  relates  to  the  moral 
life  of  the  family.  It  is  closely  related  to  truthful- 
ness, and  much  that  has  been  said  about  the  one  ap- 
plies equally  to  the  other.  Of  its  importance  as  a 
social  virtue,  and  of  dishonesty  as  a  social  vice,  we 
can  speak  to  better  advantage  in  dealing  with  them  in 
connection  with  the  virtues  and  vices  of  the  commu- 
nity, for  here  they  assume  much  larger,  and,  in  a 
sense,  more  significant  proportions.  Still  they  should 
be  duly  emphasised  in  their  relation  to  family  life. 

Helpfulness  in  the  family  is  another  virtue  in  which 
children  need  to  be  established.  Some  one  has  said 
that  we  are  all  as  lazy  as  we  dare  to  be.  The  ma- 
jority of  us  would  hardly  admit  this  statement  to  be 
true.  But  it  is  not  a  libel  on  child  nature  to  say 
that  the  average  child  is  disposed  to  be  lazy  with 
reference  to  helping  in  home  work.  During  his 
earliest  years  so  much  is  done  for  him,  and  so  much 
of  the  general  housework  is  done  by  others,  that, 
when  a  little  later  he  is  called  upon  to  share  in  it,  it 
is  more  or  less  irksome  to  him.  Furthermore,  play 
is  so  instinctive  and  enjoyable  in  childhood  that 
work,  which  interferes  with  play,  is  usually  not  rel- 
ished very  much.  But  a  child  ought  to  be  taught  to 
be  helpful  in  the  home,  to  make  his  contribution,  be 


i38  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

it  ever  so  modest,  to  the  household  work.  This  is  a 
very  important  matter  in  the  homes  of  the  poor, 
where  the  child  can  often  be  of  great  service  to  the 
mother.  It  is  well  to  cultivate  in  all  children,  rich 
and  poor  alike,  the  spirit  of  service.  Such  a  spirit 
is  ethical  and  religious  through  and  through.  Chris- 
tianity pre-eminently  enjoins  a  life  of  service,  and 
nowhere  can  the  child  be  better  introduced  to  this 
kind  of  life  than  in  the  home.  That  this  is  possible, 
even  among  very  young  children,  has  been  demon- 
strated in  the  Casa  del  Bambini  of  Montessori.  In 
these  "  Houses  of  Childhood,"  it  is  quite  remarkable 
how  the  spirit  of  helpfulness  is  developed  in  the 
child,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  this  spirit  should 
not  be  active  in  the  home.  Mrs.  Fisher,  who  made 
a  special  study  of  the  "  Houses  of  Childhood," 
says : — 

"The  children  have  the  responsibility  not  only  for 
their  own  persons,  but  for  the  care  of  their  Home. 
They  arrive  early  in  the  morning  and  betake  them- 
selves at  once  to  the  small  washstands  with  pitchers 
and  bowls  of  just  the  size  convenient  for  them  to 
handle.  Here  they  make  as  complete  a  morning 
toilet  as  any  one  could  wish,  washing  their  faces, 
necks,  hands,  and  ears  (and  behind  the  ears!), 
brushing  their  teeth,  making  manful  efforts  to  comb 
their  hair,  cleaning  their  finger  nails  with  scrupulous 
care,  and  helping  each  other  with  fraternal  sympathy. 
It  is  astonishing  (for  any  one  who  had  the  illusion 
that  she  knew  child  nature)  to  note  the  contrast  be- 


THE  FAMILY  139 

tween  the  vivid  purposeful  attention  they  bestow  on 
all  these  processes  when  they  are  allowed  to  do  them 
for  themselves,  and  the  bored,  indifferent  impatience 
we  all  know  so  well  when  it  is  our  adult  hands  which 
are  doing  all  the  work.  The  big  ones  (of  five  and 
six)  help  the  little  ones,  who,  eager  to  be  "  big  ones  " 
in  their  turn,  struggle  to  learn  as  quickly  as  possible 
how  to  do  things  for  themselves. 

"  After  the  morning  toilet  of  the  children  is  fin- 
ished, it  is  the  turn  of  the  schoolroom.  The  fresh- 
faced,  shining-eyed  children  scatter  about  the  big 
room,  with  tiny  brushes  and  dustpans,  and  little 
brooms.  They  attack  the  corners  where  dust  lurks, 
they  dust  off  all  the  furniture  with  soft  cloths,  they 
water  the  plants,  they  pick  up  any  litter  which  may 
have  accumulated,  they  learn  the  habit  of  really  ex- 
amining a  room  to  see  if  it  is  in  order  or  not.  One 
natural  result  of  this  daily  training  in  close  observa- 
tion of  a  room  is  a  much  greater  care  in  the  use  of  it 
during  the  day,  a  result  the  importance  of  which  can 
be  certified  by  any  mother  who  has  to  pick  up  after 
a  family  of  small  children."  1 

Courtesy,  or  good  manners,  is  a  virtue  of  which  we 
shall  have  more  to  say  in  connection  with  the  virtues 
of  the  school  and  of  the  community.  But  it  is  a  vir- 
tue that  eminently  belongs  to  the  home.  It  is  not 
only  an  aesthetic  imperative,  but  a  moral  and  reli- 
gious command  as  well.  In  its  highest  form  it  is  an 
expression  of  the  moral  and  religious  spirit.     It  is  a 

1  Fisher,  A  Montessori  Mother,  New  York,  1912,  pp.  34-35. 


1 4o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

manifestation  of  our  good  will  in  what  we  deem  to  be 
proper  or  fit  conduct,  and  it  is  therefore  Christian  in 
its  character.  It  is  another  adaptation  of  the  Chris- 
tian law  of  love.  Paul  recognised  this,  and,  in  writ- 
ing to  the  Romans,  he  asks  them  to  "  be  tenderly  af- 
fectioned  one  to  another;  in  honour  preferring  one 
another."  x  And  again,  he  writes  to  the  Philippians, 
"  Do  nothing  through  faction  or  vain-glory,  but  in 
lowliness  of  mind  each  counting  other  better  than 
himself;  not  looking  each  of  you  to  his  own  things, 
but  each  of  you  also  to  the  things  of  others."  2 
Where  should  such  conduct  prevail  more  than  in  the 
home?  Who  is  more  worthy  of  the  child's  courtesy 
than  father  and  mother,  or  brother  and  sister?  Our 
family  relations  should  be  cast  in  fitting  mould. 
The  moralising  effect  of  good  manners  in  the  home  is 
not  appreciated  enough.  Parents  are  not  fully  alive 
to  their  ethical  value,  and  often  the  task  of  training 
the  child  in  courtesy  as  it  should  prevail  in  the  home 
devolves  upon  the  school.  Boorishness  and  vulgar- 
ity are  closely  allied  to  evil.  Gentle  manners  and 
refinement  are  intimately  related  to  good.  Element- 
ary moral  and  religious  education  should  reckon  with 
this  fact,  and  should  make  provision  for  training  the 
child  in  courtesy  and  gentility  in  the  home.  This 
can  be  done  largely  in  connection  with  the  manners 
which  he  is  called  upon  to  practice  in  the  home  and 
schoolroom,  and  to  this  end  parents  and  teachers 

1  Romans  xii,  10. 

2  Philippians  ii,  3-4. 


THE  FAMILY  141 

should  acquaint  themselves  with  and  practice  the  code 
of  etiquette  that  prevails  in  cultured  society,  at  least 
so  far  as  this  has  to  do  with  the  more  fundamental 
modes  of  social  interaction,  so  that  they  will  not  only 
be  examples  to  the  children,  but  will  be  able  to  ac- 
quaint them  with  the  code  and  practice  them  in  it. 
Lessons  should  be  taught  also  by  means  of  story  lit- 
erature which  tell  of  polite  and  impolite  children. 
More  or  less  direct  instruction  is  necessary  here. 
For  example,  the  meal  is  such  a  valuable  social  insti- 
tution that  it  ought  to  be  refined  and  moralised  as 
much  as  possible.  Good  table  manners  ought  to  be 
taught  in  the  home.  To  familiarise  children  with 
table  etiquette  requires  more  or  less  of  the  direct 
method.  This  instruction  may  be  supplemented  by 
lessons  in  story  form  which  treat  of  well-  and  ill- 
bred  children.  The  meal  can  be  made  a  great 
moral  factor  in  the  life  of  the  home,  and  anything 
that  tends  to  refine  it  makes  for  the  moral  welfare  of 
the  family.  The  parent  should  not  overlook  the  im- 
portance of  the  etiquette  of  the  home  and  of  estab- 
lishing the  child  in  the  virtue  of  courtesy  and  in  the 
practice  of  gentle  manners. 

Another  splendid  virtue  that  ought  to  be  devel- 
oped in  the  child  in  his  relation  to  the  home  is  grati- 
tude. Especially  in  his  relation  to  his  parents  is  this 
virtue  to  be  exercised.  He  owes  so  much  to  them 
for  their  kindness  and  care  —  for  the  general  provi- 
dence which  they  exercise  over  his  life  —  that  grati- 
tude is  one  of  the  pre-eminent  moral  obligations  in 


142  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  child's  more  mature  life.  In  the  earlier  years 
the  child  accepts  all  of  this  care  and  kindness  as  a 
matter  of  course;  but  gradually  he  can  be  made  to 
appreciate  the  sacrifice  and  love  that  are  involved  in 
much  of  it,  and  grateful  feelings  can  be  awakened. 
There  is  great  need  of  cultivating  filial  gratitude; 
for,  in  many  cases,  the  heartless  inappreciation  of 
children  in  the  face  of  great  love  and  sacrifice  on  the 
part  of  parents  makes  the  soul  sick.  Ingratitude  is 
a  base  vice,  and  it  seems  especially  base  in  the  rela- 
tions of  children  to  father  and  mother. 

"  How  sharper  than  a  serpent's  tooth  it  is 
To  have  a  thankless  child." 

Love  for  parents,  of  course,  is  natural  to  children, 
but  as  natural  it  is  non-moral.  When  it  represents 
an  attitude  of  will,  it  becomes  moral.  In  developing 
the  child  in  all  the  virtues  of  the  home  the  parent  is 
really  developing  the  child  in  filial  love.  True  love 
is  the  crowning  grace  and  virtue  of  the  soul  in  all 
forms  of  social  life,  and  nowhere  should  it  abound 
more  than  in  the  home.  By  virtue  of  the  child's 
peculiar  relation  to  his  parents  he  is  under  special 
obligations  to  love  them,  and  the  same  thing  is  true 
with  reference  to  his  relation  to  brother  and  sister. 
As  love  is  "  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world,"  so  is  it 
the  greatest  thing  in  the  family.  It  makes  for  all  of 
the  other  virtues.  It  leads  to  willing  obedience;  to 
truthfulness,  for  it  "  rejoiceth  in  the  truth  " ;  to  sym- 
pathy and  helpfulness;   "it  suffereth  long  and   is 


THE  FAMILY 


143 


kind";  it  bears  all  things  and  endures  all  things. 
"  Love  never  faileth."  And  all  this  is  exceedingly 
necessary  in  the  family.  When  love  abounds  in  the 
family,  there  is  unity,  harmony,  and  moral  progress. 
It  recognises  the  mutuality  of  interests,  and  all  labour 
toward  a  common  end.  Hence  anything  that  can  be 
done  by  the  parent  and  teacher  to  promote  love  in 
the  home  by  establishing  the  child  in  this  supreme 
virtue  represents  a  decided  moral  and  spiritual  gain, 
and  its  influence  extends  far  beyond  the  immediate 
boundaries  of  the  home.  Here  again  the  story 
method  will  be  found  most  effective.  There  are 
many  beautiful  stories  of  home  life  of  which  we  can 
avail  ourselves  to  bring  this  virtue  before  the  child. 
We  should  familiarise  ourselves  with  such  literature. 
Another  virtue  relating  to  the  family  is  loyalty. 
Professor  Royce  seems  to  regard  loyalty  as  compre- 
hending the  whole  life  of  morals.1  Whether  this 
be  so  or  not,  loyalty  is  certainly  a  cardinal  virtue, 
and  loyalty  to  the  best  life  of  the  family  and  to  its 
highest  ideals  is  an  important  moral  obligation.  To 
be  true  to  those  who  love  us  most,  to  be  mindful  of 
their  interests,  and  to  guard  their  honour  —  to  do 
all  this  is  to  live  a  wholesome  moral  life.  The  boys 
and  girls  who  possess  this  virtue  of  loyalty  to  the 
home  have  a  great  safeguard  against  the  evil  of  the 
world  when  other  safeguards  give  way.  It  often 
serves  as  a  check  to  temptation.  They  will  often 
think  twice  before  doing  a  thing  that  they  feel  sure 

1  Royce,  The  Philosophy  of  Loyalty,  New  York,  1909. 


i44  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

would  bring  discredit  or  disgrace  upon  the  family. 
A  keen  sense  of  family  honour  is  a  good  thing,  and 
parent  and  teacher  should  aim  to  establish  the  child 
in  this  virtue.  Especially  should  this  virtue  be 
brought  impressively  to  their  attention  in  the  later 
years  of  childhood,  just  before  many  children  enter 
upon  their  vocational  course,  or  leave  the  home  for 
the  private  school. 

In  teaching  the  virtues  of  the  home,  then,  obedi- 
ence, truthfulness,  honesty,  courtesy,  helpfulness, 
gratitude,  love,  loyalty,  and  their  corresponding  vices 
should  be  dealt  with.  These  virtues  make  the  home 
the  most  blessed  place  on  earth,  a  place  of  peace  and 
joy,  a  place  of  sweetest  and  purest  fellowship. 
Much  can  be  done  to  moralise  the  home,  and  the 
parents  and  teachers  who  labour  toward  this  end 
will  have  as  their  reward  the  consciousness  that  they 
have  done  something  to  idealise  one  of  the  most  vital 
and  sacred  institutions  of  the  race. 

Christianity  places  a  high  moral  value  on  the  home, 
and  all  of  the  social  virtues  emphasised  above  are  in 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  law  of  love. 
Jesus  himself  had  a  profound  appreciation  of  its 
sacredness,  and  regarded  it  as  an  important  ethical 
institution.  Professor  Peabody  rightly  says,  that 
Jesus  generally  uses  the  family  relationship  "  as  the 
type  which  expresses  all  that  was  most  sacred  to  his 
mind.  His  entire  theology  may  be  described  as  a 
transfiguration  of  the  family.  God  is  a  Father,  man 
is  his  child;  and  from  the  father  to  the  child  there  is 


THE  FAMILY  145 

conveyed  the  precious  and  patient  message  of  pater- 
nal love.  When  the  prodigal  boy,  in  that  parable 
which  most  perfectly  tells  the  story  of  the  sinning 
and  repentant  life,  *  came  to  himself,'  his  first  words 
were,  '  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father  ' ;  and  while 
he  is  yet  afar  off,  the  waiting  father  sees  him  coming 
and  is  moved  with  compassion.  Repentance,  that  is 
to  say,  is  but  the  homesickness  of  the  soul,  and  the 
uninterrupted  and  watching  care  of  the  parent  is  the 
fairest  earthly  type  of  the  unfailing  forgiveness  of 
God.  The  family  is,  to  the  mind  of  Jesus,  the  near- 
est of  human  analogies  to  that  Divine  order  which 
it  was  his  mission  to  reveal."  * 

The  family  virtues  mentioned  above,  in  which  our 
children  are  to  be  established,  are  Christian  virtues. 
They  make  for  the  building  up  of  the  child  in  Chris- 
tian character.  God  is  in  the  home  where  parental 
love  and  such  filial  virtues  abound,  and  such  a  home 
becomes  a  veritable  paradise.  It  is  the  symbol  of 
the  heavenly  home  —  the  Father's  house  —  in  which 
true  fellowship  abounds.  Such  a  home  is  worth 
striving  for.  It  represents  the  highest  values,  the 
moral  and  spiritual  values,  which  alone  abide. 

In  our  efforts  to  establish  children  in  the  virtues 
of  the  family  life  the  following  graded  scheme  is 
recommended  for  adoption: 

1  F.  Peabody,  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  New  York, 
1901,   p.   147. 


146 


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148  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

It  may  not  be  amiss,  by  way  of  preparation  for  the 
chapter  following,  to  say  that,  in  addition  to  the 
more  purposeful  instruction  dealt  with  in  the  para- 
graphs of  the  present  chapter,  the  family  atmosphere 
is  a  most  subtle  and  potent  force  in  the  moral  and 
spiritual  development  of  the  child.  Professor  Mac- 
Cunn  does  not  exaggerate  when  he  says,  that  the 
vital  matter  in  moral  education  "  is  the  home  as  it 
normally  is  in  its  habitual  preferences,  its  predomi- 
nant interests,  its  settled  estimates  of  persons  and 
pursuits,  its  ordinary  circle  of  associates,  its  stand- 
ard of  living,  its  accepted  ideals  of  work  and  of 
amusement.  For  it  is  not  only  from  the  family,  but 
with  the  family  eyes,  that  we  all  begin  to  look  out 
upon  the  world.  And  if  this  first  outlook  is  to  see 
the  things  for  which  men  live  in  something  like  their 
true  perspective,  and  not  as  distorted  through  the 
deluding  medium  of  the  home  that  is  idle,  frivolous, 
sordid,  grasping,  quarrelsome,  or  sentimental,  this 
will  be  due  far  less  to  what  is  done  of  express  educa- 
tional design,  far  more  to  the  ideal  of  life  which  the 
Family  consistently  embodies.  For  it  is  only  thus 
that  the  scale  of  moral  valuation  which  the  Family 
has  wrought  into  its  life  will  be  likely,  as  the  years 
go  round,  to  reflect  itself  in  the  habitual  feelings, 
estimates,  and  actions  of  its  members. 

"  This  kind  of  influence  is  moreover  peculiarly  ef- 
fective because  it  is  made  easier  by  the  tie  of  natural 
affection.  Without  this,  and  the  trustful  confidence 
which  goes  with  it,  comparatively  little  can  be  done. 


THE  FAMILY  149 

And  many  a  parent  in  whom  the  qualities  which  win 
it  have  been  lacking,  even  though  he  may  have  been 
masterful  and  reasonable,  has  been  compelled  to 
realise  his  impotence.  Yet,  normally,  the  parent  has 
a  manifest  advantage.  That  confidence  which  a 
stranger  has  to  gain  with  difficulty,  he  finds  either 
ready  to  hand,  or  at  most  less  arduous  to  win.  This 
is  a  double  gain.  It  prompts  a  spontaneous  trust- 
fulness which  opens  the  ways  for  influence,  and,  as 
lesser  adjunct,  it  invests  a  father's  or  a  mother's 
disapprobation  with  a  power  to  restrain  and  chasten 
such  as  cannot  be  found  when  love  and  trust  are  ab- 
sent. In  this  the  Family  is  pre-eminent.  No 
teacher  however  kindly,  no  public  authority  however 
paternal  and  mild,  can  rival  it  here.  And  if  this  be 
lost,  whether  by  aloofness  of  parents,  or  wreck  of 
family  life,  or  by  decay  of  the  family  as  an  institu- 
tion, one  of  the  purest  springs  of  moral  influence 
will  be  frozen  at  its  source."  *  What  the  nature  of 
such  a  home  atmosphere  should  be  will  be  more  spe- 
cifically stated  in  the  next  chapter. 

For  training  children  in  the  virtues  of  the  family 
life  the  following  stories  and  selections  will  be  found 
helpful: 

"  Brownie  and  Bright  Eyes,"  "  I  Didn't  Think,"  "  Elsie's 
First  Skates,"  "  Ishmael,"  "  The  Wrong  Way  to  Borrow," 
"Which  Is  It?"  "A  Little  Hero,"  "Only  One  Mother," 
and  "  Miriam,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Green  Pastures. 

1  MacCunn,  The  Making  of  Character,  New  York,  1910,  pp.  84- 
86. 


ISO  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

"The  Story  of  Ruth,"  "The  Childhood  of  Mozart," 
"  The  Legend  of  the  Dipper,"  "  Little  Jack,"  "  The  Broken 
Flowerpot,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Rivers. 

"The  Story  of  Joseph,"  "A  Picture  of  My  Mother," 
"  Napoleon's  Regard  for  his  Mother,"  "  The  Call  of  Sam- 
uel," "  Jo's  Conquest,"  and  "  Christmas  at  Bob  Cratchit's," 
from  The  Way  of  the  Hills. 

"  Jeanne  Parelle,"  "  A  Child's  Dream  of  a  Star,"  "  An 
Ungrateful  Son,"  and  "  Somebody's  Mother,"  from  The  Way 
of  the  Mountains. 

"  Fathers  and  Sons,"  "  Absalom,"  "  The  Eagle's  Nest," 
and  "The  Schoolmaster's  Story,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Stars. 

"  Home  Sweet  Home,"  "  The  Union  of  the  Trees,"  "  The 
Love  of  Home,"  "  Joys  of  Home,"  and  "  The  Prodigal  Son," 
from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Gardens. 

"  Filial  Affection,"  "  Home,"  and  "  The  Cotter's  Satur- 
day Night,"  from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Palace. 

"The  Young  Racoons  Go  to  a  Party,"  "The  Pond," 
"  How  the  Crickets  Brought  Good  Fortune,"  "  Which 
Loved  Best?"  "The  Old  Grandfather's  Corner,"  "Only 
One,"  "  A  Four-footed  Gentleman,"  "  The  Hare  of  Inaba," 
"  One,  Two,  Three,"  "  The  Water  of  Life,"  "  The  Boy 
Who  Never  Told  a  Lie,"  "Up  to  the  Sky  and  Back," 
"  Three  Bugs,"  "  The  Three-inch  Grin,"  and  "  A  German 
Story,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder  Book. 

"  Casabianca,"  "  So-So,"  "  Rebecca's  Afterthought,"  "  Si- 
Me-Quong,"  "  How  the  Sun,  Moon,  and  Wind  Went  Out 
to  Dinner,"  "  Sweet  and  Low,"  "  The  Brownies,"  "  A  Song 
of  Love,"  "  The  King  of  the  Golden  River,"  "  Ezekiel  and 
Daniel,"  "  The  Pea  Blossom,"  and  "  Love  Will  Find  Out 
the  Way,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  A  Visit  to  Yarmouth,"  "  The  Goat-faced  Girl,"  «  The 
Boy  Who  Became  a  Hsao-Tsze,"  "  Snapdragons,"  "  A  Story 
of  Long  Ago,"  and  "  Sylvian  and  Jocosa,"  from  The  Golden 
Door  Book. 


THE  FAMILY  151 

11  Prascovia,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

u  The  Golden  Goose,"  "  Story  of  Cordelia,"  and  "  Tom 
and  Maggie  Tulliver,"  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"The  Parrot,"  "The  Forsaken  Merman,"  and  "Na- 
poleon," from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  Story  of  Raggylug,"  from  Ernest  Thompson-Seton's 
Wild  Animals  I  Have  Known.  "  Education  of  Dear  Jim," 
"  Resolutions,"  and  "  The  New  Leaf,"  from  More  Five 
Minute  Stories,  by  Laura  E.  Richards.  "  The  Chicken  Who 
Wouldn't  Eat  Gravel,"  and  "  The  Twin  Lambs,"  from 
Among  the  Farmyard  People,  by  Clara  D.  Pierson.  "  A 
Robin's  Double  Brood,"  from  Dooryard  Stories,  by  Clara  D. 
Pierson.  "  About  Angels,"  "  The  Wheat  Field,"  and  "  The 
Great  Feast,"  from  The  Golden  Windows.  Grimm's  "  One 
Eye,  Two  Eyes,  Three  Eyes."  "  The  Blue  Jackal,"  from 
The  Talking  Beasts.  "  Hugh  John  Smith  Becomes  a 
Soldier,"  from  S.  R.  Crockett's  Sir  Toady  Lion.  "The 
Eve  of  St.  Nicholas,"  from  Story  Land,  by  Clara  Murray. 

The  Story  of  Phaeton.  "  Amelia  and  the  Dwarfs,"  and 
"  Mary's  Meadow,"  by  Juliana  Horatia  Ewing.  Story  of 
George  Washington.  "  The  Wouldbegoods,"  p.  86,  by  E. 
Nesbit.  "  How  Cedric  Became  a  Knight"  and  "  The  Line 
of  Golden  Light,"  from  In  Story-Land,  by  Elizabeth  Har- 
rison. Story  of  Elidure,  from  Bulfinch's  Age  of  Chivalry. 
"  The  Rainbow  Pilgrimage "  and  "  The  Immortal  Foun- 
tain," from  Stories  of  Child  Life,  edited  by  John  Greenleaf 
Whittier.  "  The  Wonderful  Mallet  "  and  "  The  Months," 
from  Tales  of  Laughter.  "  A  Triumph,"  by  Celia  Thaxter. 
"  The  Ugly  Duckling,"  by  Hans  Christian  Andersen. 
iEsop's  "  The  Three  Vases." 

"  Fathers  and  Sons  "  and  "  The  Monthyon  Prizes,"  from 
A  Book  of  Golden  Deeds,  by  Charlotte  M.  Yonge.  "  The 
Bull,"  from  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories  and  Legends,  by 
Marie  L.  Shedlock.  "  Home  Song,"  by  Longfellow.  "  The 
Brothers,"  by  William  Wordsworth. 


For  I  have  known  him,  to  the  end  that  he  may  command  his 
children  and  his  household  after  him,  that  they  may  keep 
the  way  of  Jehovah,  to  do  righteousness  and  justice; 
to  the  end  that  Jehovah  may  bring  upon  Abraham  that 
which  he  hath  spoken  of  him. 

—  Genesis  xviii,    19. 

Therefore  shall  ye  lay  up  these  my  words  in  your  heart  and 
in  your  soul;  and  ye  shall  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon 
your  hand,  and  they  shall  be  for  frontlets  between  your 
eyes.  And  ye  shall  teach  them  to  your  children,  talking 
of  them,  when  thou  sittest  in  thy  house,  and  when  thou 
walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and 
when  thou  risest  up.  And  thou  shalt  write  them  upon 
the  door-posts  of  thy  house,  and  upon  thy  gates;  that 
your  days  may  be  multiplied,  and  the  days  of  your  chil- 
dren, in  the  land  which  Jehovah  sware  unto  your  fathers 
to  give  them. 

—  Deuteronomy  xi,  18-20. 

I  will  walk  within  my  house  with  a  perfect  heart. 

—  Psalm  ci,  2. 

Having  been  reminded  of  the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee; 
which  dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy 
mother  Eunice;  and,  I  am  persuaded,  in  thee  also. 

—  //  Timothy  i,  5. 

But  abide  thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast  learned  and 
hast  been  assured  of,  knowing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned 
them;  and  that  from  a  babe  thou  hast  known  the  sacred 
writings  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salva- 
tion through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

—  //  Timothy  iii,  14,  15. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  SOCIAL  life  —  the  family      (Continued) 

The  opportunity  furnished  by  the  home  for  the 
religious  nurture  of  the  child,  and  the  responsibility 
of  the  parents  in  that  training  have  already  been  em- 
phasised in  the  opening  chapters.  The  virtues  of 
the  family  life  have  also  been  considered.  It  re- 
mains to  add  some  remarks  on  the  religious  atmos- 
phere of  the  home. 

It  needs  hardly  to  be  said  that  this  will  depend 
almost  exclusively  on  the  religious  character  of  the 
parents.  Daniel  Webster  once  testified  that  the 
strongest  argument  for  Christianity  he  had  ever 
found  was  an  old  aunt,  who  lived  up  among  the  New 
England  hills.  The  most  persuasive  logic  which 
can  be  brought  to  bear  on  a  boy  is  the  life  of  his 
father.  The  attitude  toward  God  and  man  exem- 
plified in  the  words  and  deeds  of  the  mother  is  a 
girl's  first  catechism.  Technical  theological  state- 
ments of  belief  are  comparatively  negligible  quanti- 
ties —  some  even  regard  them  as  distinctly  harmful 
—  so  far  as  the  normal  development  of  the  religious 
nature  is  concerned. 

Now  it  is  a  sorry  fact  that  in  most  homes  the  re- 
ligion of  the  parents  is  not  sufficiently  vigourous  and 

153 


154  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

attractive  to  be  contagious.  There  is  no  evidence 
which  the  child  can  see  that  God  plays  an  important 
part  in  their  lives.  Any  salvation  which  they  may 
have  experienced  is  apparently  a  kind  of  celestial  in- 
surance, which  pays  no  premiums  until  after  death. 
The  attitude  toward  God  and  man  incarnated  in 
Jesus  does  not  manifestly  control  their  tongues  and 
their  tempers,  or  fashion  their  ideals,  or  inspire  their 
deeds.  The  fruits  of  the  daily  intercourse  are  not 
always  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  goodness, 
meekness,  and  self-control.  Where  this  state  of  af- 
fairs exists,  a  normal  religious  development  of  the 
child  is  impossible. 

For  the  parents  are  the  child's  earliest  objects  of 
worship.  In  babyhood  they  are  practically  gods. 
His  relation  to  them  is  his  first  religion.  The  brood- 
ing love  of  the  mother,  the  strength  and  protection 
of  the  father,  the  parental  care  which  mani- 
fests itself  daily  in  shelter  and  food  and  clothing, 
and  the  friendship  that  shares  with  the  child  both 
work  and  play  —  these  are  the  germinal  beginnings 
from  which  the  religion  of  the  mature  man  will  prob- 
ably develop.  Ideally  all  that  is  needed  for  perfec- 
tion is  to  lift  the  child's  home  relations  until  they 
touch  God  and  to  broaden  them  until  they  include  all 
men.  If  the  earthly  father  is  neither  ideal  nor  chum, 
but  only  a  selfish  and  churly  semi-stranger,  what 
conception  of  God  will  the  boy  have  when  he  is  taught 
to  pray,  "  Our  Father  "  ?  If  there  is  nothing  in  the 
mother  which  ever  reminds  the  child  even  dimly  of 


THE  FAMILY  155 

the  Sistine  Madonna,  her  formal  religious  instruc- 
tion will  be  very  incomplete.  Stanley  asserted  that 
what  converted  him  was  not  Livingstone's  sermons 
but  Livingstone.  Fathers  and  mothers  are  living 
arguments  either  for  or  against  the  existence  of  a 
good  God.  If  the  parents,  who  are  interested  in  the 
religious  nurture  of  their  children,  would  go  into 
vigourous  and  persistent  training  to  exemplify  their 
creeds,  the  largest  part  of  their  task  in  the  religious 
nurture  of  their  children  would  be  already  done. 

Next  in  power  to  the  radiant  incarnation  of  reli- 
gion in  the  lives  of  parents  will  be  the  definite  and 
concrete  example  set  by  their  practices.  If  they 
pray,  not  in  word  only  but  in  labour  and  in  life,  the 
child  will  pray  also.  If  they  merely  tell  him  to  pray, 
or  teach  him  to  repeat  a  form  of  words,  the  result 
will  be  only  one  degree  better  than  if  they  taught  him 
to  recite  a  poem  or  to  memorise  a  psalm.  If  the 
Bible  is  a  book  which  they  read,  reverence  and  allow 
to  control  their  lives,  the  child  will  follow  their  ex- 
ample. If  they  are  content  when  he  "  knows  his 
Sunday  School  lesson  "  on  Sunday,  just  as  he  knows 
the  metric  system  tables,  which  he  never  uses  in 
work  or  play,  in  his  school  on  Monday,  the  Bible  will 
have  considerably  less  effect  on  his  life  than  his  be- 
loved fairy  tales  and  the  stories  of  the  Greek  heroes 
and  the  life  of  Daniel  Boone.  If  they  go  to  church 
and  love  it  and  work  for  it,  he  will  probably  follow 
in  their  footsteps.  But  if  he  is  compelled  to  go  to 
church  without  having  the  service  made  interesting 


156  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

and  intelligible,  or  if  his  mother  forces  him  to  accom- 
pany her  while  his  father  lounges  over  the  paper  in 
slippered  luxury  at  home,  it  will  be  only  what  might 
naturally  be  expected  if  the  boy  asserts  his  freedom 
by  deserting  the  church  in  his  teens.  The  grace  at 
table,  the  evening  prayer,  family  worship,  the  atti- 
tude toward  death,  the  way  in  which  burdens  are  car- 
ried, and  disagreeable  and  socially  unimportant  folk 
treated,  and  sins  forgiven,  and  inclinations  and  com- 
forts sacrificed,  and  faults  overcome  —  in  brief,  all 
the  acts  and  habits  in  which  true  religion,  pure  and 
undefiled,  is  outwardly  expressed  —  these  the  child 
will  interpret  and  imitate,  consciously  and  uncon- 
sciously; and  the  habits  fixed  in  childhood,  if  they  be 
vital  rather  than  mechanical,  will  probably  be  main- 
tained when  the  doubts  and  distraction  of  mature  life 
attack  the  citadel  of  the  soul. 

Some  direct  instruction  in  religion  will  of  course 
be  given.  This  should  be  of  the  simplest  and  most 
vital  character,  such  as  would  grow  normally  out  of 
the  life  of  the  family  and  meet  the  practical  require- 
ments of  the  child's  heart  and  mind.  Theological 
theories  may  well  be  omitted.  Not  one  parent  in  ten 
thousand  has  a  theology  grounded  in  the  wealth  of 
modern  Biblical  and  scientific  knowledge  or  adequate 
as  an  interpretation  of  the  religious  experience;  and 
of  those  who  have,  few  have  the  pedagogical  train- 
ing and  skill  to  bring  it  in  a  helpful  way  to  the  life  of 
a  child.  Furthermore  the  child  does  not  need  it  or 
assimilate  it.     No  doubt  it  is  possible  to  impress  cer- 


THE  FAMILY  157 

tain  theories  very  deeply  in  childhood;  but  the  child 
will  hold  Mohammedan  and  Buddhist  conceptions  as 
tenaciously  as  Jewish  and  Christian.  One  of  the 
most  prolific  sources  of  a  boy's  doubts,  leading  often 
to  his  abandonment  of  the  church  and  a  sophomoric 
scorn  for  all  religion,  is  the  bad  theology  of  his 
parents  and  the  ignorant  sectarian  zeal  of  his  Sunday 
school  teachers.  Moreover,  true  ideas  are  often 
distorted  and  misunderstood  on  account  of  the  child's 
inadequate  apperception  and  comprehension.  It  is 
bad  training  that  is  largely  responsible  for  our 
Thomas  Paines  and  Robert  G.  Ingersolls,  men  who 
might  conceivably  have  been  the  staunchest  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus,  if  they  had  been  familiar  in  their 
childhood  with  more  of  vital  religion  and  less  of  a 
theology  which  soon  became  at  times  incredible  or 
horrible. 

Technical  credal  statements  may  well  be  left  for 
the  maturing  mind  to  wrestle  with.  When  the  ques- 
tions arise,  then  the  opportunity  for  the  parent  and 
teacher  will  have  come.  In  the  earlier  years  fireside 
talks  about  the  goodness  of  the  great  unseen  Father 
and  Friend;  the  heroism  and  teachings  of  Jesus;  the 
helpfulness  of  word-prayers  which  complete  them- 
selves in  an  honest  and  vigorous  effort  to  bring  about 
in  part,  at  least,  their  own  answers,  and  trust  God  to 
grant  or  deny  the  rest;  the  joy  and  the  result  of  gen- 
erous and  self-sacrificing  service;  the  natural  and  in- 
evitable punishments  that  are  visited  upon  the  wrong- 
doer, will  do  most  to  help  a  boy's  growth  in  religion. 


158  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Story-telling  here  will  be  particularly  effective. 
Whatever  instruction  is  given  should  bear  practically 
upon  the  daily  life,  be  easily  understood,  and  be  stated 
with  the  breadth  and  beauty  of  symbolism  rather 
than  with  the  attempt  at  formal  and  technical  theo- 
logical accuracy,  which  causes  us  to  become  so  soon 
dissatisfied  with  all  creeds.  Athanasius  taught  his 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  through  hypostases  and 
essences,  which  the  modern  world  long  ago  relegated 
to  the  history  of  doctrine.  Jesus  told  us  the  story  of 
the  Prodigal  Son,  in  which  every  age  has  seen  visions 
of  the  nature  of  God  and  the  redemption  of  Man. 
Every  child  loves  it  and  understands  it,  and  every 
wise  man  studies  it  as  a  mine  of  inexhaustible  and 
transforming  truth. 

Granting  the  importance  of  parental  character, 
parental  example,  and  parental  instruction,  our  age 
needs  sorely  to  emphasise  the  importance  of  maintain- 
ing certain  religious  customs  in  the  home.  Social 
forms,  bodily  attitudes,  the  contagiousness  of  incar- 
nated moods  are  mighty  forces  in  the  development  of 
all  of  us.  The  celebration  of  Flag  Day  and  of  the 
Fourth  of  July  are  helpful,  much  as  these  are  abused, 
and  formal  and  mechanical  as  they  often  are.  In 
precisely  the  same  way  the  daily  rites  and  ceremonies 
of  the  home  may  mean  much  for  religion.  No  doubt 
where  there  is  lack  of  spiritual  earnestness  and  thor- 
ough preparation  and  self-training,  there  is  danger  of 
dullness  and  even  deadness.  But  where  all  forms  are 
omitted  there  is  still  more  danger  of  religious  atrophy 


THE  FAMILY  159 

and  death.  A  boy  cannot  listen  daily  to  the  reading 
of  the  world's  greatest  religious  classic,  join  in  simple 
and  devout  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  acknowledge 
God  as  the  Giver  of  all  good  things,  and  lie  down  at 
night  with  a  heart  open  toward  God  and  right  toward 
man  without  having  one  of  the  mightiest  influences 
for  good  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  Testimonies 
concerning  its  power  are  endless,  and  the  experience 
is  verifiable  for  all  who  are  willing  to  make  proof  of 
it  to-day. 

One  of  the  simplest  forms,  which  the  child  can 
enter  into  and  understand,  is  the  grace  at  table. 
Here  are  bounties  as  needful  as  they  are  delicious. 
What  could  be  more  natural  than  to  thank  God,  and 
to  recognise  Him  as  the  wise  and  generous  Giver  of 
all  good  things?  Sometimes  the  prayer  should  be 
offered  by  the  father  or  mother.  More  often  the 
children  should  participate.  A  verse  used  by  many 
for  the  morning  grace  runs  as  follows : 

Father,  we  thank  thee  for  the  night, 
And  for  the  pleasant  morning  light; 
For  rest  and  food  and  loving  care, 
And  all  that  makes  the  day  so  fair. 

Help  us  to  do  the  things  we  should, 
To  be  to  others  kind  and  good ; 
In  all  we  do,  in  work  or  play, 
To  grow  more  loving  every  day. 

Another  which  may  be  used  at  dinner  and  supper 
reads: 


160  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Thou  art  great,  Thou  art  good, 
And  we  thank  Thee  for  our  food. 
By  Thy  goodness  all  are  fed ; 
Give  us,  Lord,  our  daily  bread! 

To  join  hands  around  the  table  during  the  prayer  is 
effective  during  a  child's  earlier  years  as  a  symbol  of 
the  unity  and  affection  of  the  family. 

Another  custom,  which  the  child  may  well  form 
very  early,  is  that  of  the  evening  prayer.  Here  the 
parent  may  lead  the  way  by  praying  for  and  with  the 
child,  thus  gradually  teaching  and  inspiring  him  to 
pray  for  himself.  The  Lord's  prayer  and  short 
verses  should  be  memorised.  "  Now  I  lay  me  down 
to  sleep  "  is  a  model  for  its  simplicity  and  brevity 
rather  than  for  its  content.  The  number  of  its  ideas 
is  very  limited,  and  their  character,  especially  the 
thought  of  dying  in  the  night,  not  the  best  for  bed- 
time. 

Family  prayers  in  the  morning  was  a  well-spring 
of  joy  and  power  in  the  lives  of  our  Puritan  ancestors. 
But  unfortunately  there  are  few  who  follow  their 
example,  and  the  results  are  apparent  in  the  homes 
and  market  places  of  our  own  time.  To  be  sure, 
some  have  tried  the  custom  and  found  it  not  a  well 
watered  garden  but  a  desert.  Families  rose  late  and 
there  seemed  to  be  no  time  in  the  hurry  of  the  morn- 
ing. Fathers  did  not  know  what  passages  to  read 
from  the  Bible,  or,  if  they  did,  did  not  read  them 
effectively.  When  they  tried  to  pray  aloud,  they 
stumbled  and  bungled,  and  this  was  both  humiliating 


THE  FAMILY  161 

and  useless.  Reading  prayers  was  usually  dull  and 
sometimes  hypocritical.  What  was  said  the  father 
did  not  mean,  and  the  family  did  not  need,  and  the 
boys  and  girls  did  not  understand.  The  result  was 
that  the  practice  was  soon  discontinued. 

What  the  result  ought  to  have  been  was  such  study 
and  preparation  on  the  part  of  the  father  that  the 
faults  were  corrected  while  the  virtues  remained. 
There  are  excellent  books  of  selections  ready  for  him, 
if  he  will  take  the  pains  to  look  them  up.  A  little 
reflection  beforehand  would  enable  him  to  add  vivid- 
ness to  the  passage  or  to  apply  it  in  just  a  word. 
There  are  also  books  containing  brief  prayers,  though 
it  would  be  far  better  to  make  his  own,  even  if  he 
found  it  necessary  to  write  them  out  beforehand.  As 
for  the  requisite  time,  could  not  the  last  ten  minutes  in 
bed  be  put  to  better  use  by  rising  in  order  to  dress 
one's  soul  as  well  as  one's  body,  to  begin  the  day 
with  the  finest  ideals  and  aspirations,  and  to  unify  the 
family  life  and  thought  by  preparing  all  to  work  and 
to  play,  to  love  and  to  learn,  to  meet  all  happenings 
and  to  bear  all  burdens  as  children  of  the  one  Great 
Father,  who  are  bent,  each  in  his  own  place  and  in 
his  own  way,  upon  incarnating  God's  Spirit  and  doing 
joyously  and  aggressively  His  righteous  will?  Be- 
yond all  question,  we  have  lost  tremendously  in  giving 
up  the  old  custom.  He  who  buries  family  worship 
in  the  graves  of  his  forefathers  inters  a  source  of 
virtue  and  of  power  which  he  and  his  sons  sorely 
need.     Few  things  would  do  more  to  bind  families 


1 62  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

together,  strengthen  the  work  of  the  Church,  and 
make  our  nation  a  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord 
than  the  maintenance  of  the  morning  devotions,  if 
only  they  be  given  time  and  thought  and  preparation, 
and  be  entered  into  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  best  of  the  Psalms 
and  the  great  passages  of  the  Bible  should  be  mem- 
orised. John  Ruskin  as  a  boy  learned  by  heart  large 
portions  of  the  Scriptures,  and  these  helped  to  fire 
the  soul  of  the  reformer  as  well  as  to  fashion  the 
essayist's  style.  Another  good  custom  is  that  of  a 
walk  on  Sunday  afternoon,  when  in  field  and  forest, 
on  mountain  or  in  meadow,  the  sense  of  wonder  and 
admiration  in  the  presence  of  Nature  may  be  turned 
toward  the  recognition  and  worship  of  Nature's 
God. 

If  there  is  music  in  the  life  of  the  family  —  and 
there  should  be  —  one  of  the  happy  hours  of  the 
week  will  be  the  one  spent  around  the  piano,  when 
the  old  hymns  are  sung  and  their  stories  recounted. 
Every  household  should  own  some  book  on  hymns 
and  their  histories.  There  are  fascinating  tales  to 
be  told  concerning  both  the  hymns  and  the  hymn 
writers.  A  child  ought  to  become  acquainted  with 
Luther  and  the  Wesleys,  and  know  something  of 
the  troubled  childhood  of  the  little  deformed  boy, 
Isaac  Watts,  and  of  the  exciting  adventures  which 
led  John  Newton,  the  slave  dealer,  to  become  the 
servant  and  friend  of  all  men,  black  and  white,  and 
to  write  such  hymns  as 


THE  FAMILY  163 

One  there  is  above  all  others 
Well  deserves  the  name  of  friend. 

"Abide  With  Me,"  "  Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  and 
"  Stand  Up  for  Jesus  "  gain  immensely  in  power  and 
effectiveness  when  a  boy  knows  the  striking  circum- 
stances under  which  they  were  written.  Stories  con- 
cerning the  great  musicians  will  also  add  colour  and 
interest.  One  of  the  best  gifts  which  parents  can 
give  to  their  children  is  constant  familiarity,  intelli- 
gent appreciation,  and  hearty  and  sincere  use  of  the 
world's  great  hymns.  Like  all  good  things  it  will 
demand  time  and  effort;  but  the  expenditure  will  be 
more  than  compensated  by  the  gain. 

In  addition  to  such  religious  customs  certain  aids 
should  be  utilised  to  the  full.  One  of  these  is  the 
use  of  pictures.  It  is  only  in  recent  times  that  edu- 
cators have  begun  to  perceive  that  as  a  door  into  the 
life  of  a  child  the  eye  is  even  more  important  than 
the  ear.  It  makes  a  difference  whether  a  student  in 
college  hangs  upon  the  walls  of  his  study  Michel- 
angelo's "  David,"  a  photograph  of  the  Matterhorn, 
and  a  head  of  Lincoln,  or  the  face  of  the  last  prize- 
fighter, a  cheap  chromo,  and  an  idealised  chorus  girl. 
Pictures  in  the  home  are  not  mere  ornaments;  they 
are  powers,  tonics,  enchantments.  They  should  be 
selected  with  the  utmost  care  and  hung  so  as  to  bring 
out  their  full  beauty  and  helpfulness.  If  the  sway 
of  the  moving-picture  over  millions  of  boys  and  girls 
is  tremendous,  so  is  the  influence  of  the  pictures  with 
which  parents  decorate  their  rooms. 


1 64  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Pictures  illustrating  Bible  scenes  are  being  increas- 
ingly used  by  our  Sunday  Schools,  and  the  home 
should  follow  the  example.  Excellent  copies  of  the 
world's  great  paintings,  like  Raphael's  "  Sistine 
Madonna "  and  "  The  Transfiguration,"  Titian's 
u  Tribute  to  Caesar,"  Ruben's  "  Descent  from  the 
Cross,"  and  others,  may  be  bought  for  from  one  to 
five  cents  and  given  to  the  child  to  mount  in  a  book  or 
frame  upon  the  wall.  Some  pictures,  like  those  of 
Holman  Hunt,  in  which  every  feature  is  symbolical, 
may  well  be  studied  and  made  the  basis  for  a  story. 
"  The  Finding  of  Christ  in  the  Temple  "  is  most 
interesting.  Ruskin  called  "  The  Light  of  the 
World  "  the  most  perfect  instance  of  expressional 
purpose  that  the  world  has  yet  produced.  Some  pic- 
tures by  Watts  and  Burne-Jones  belong  in  the  same 
category.  Pictures  like  the  "  Sir  Galahad "  of 
Watts  and  the  Grail  Frescoes  by  Abbey  will  do  much 
to  develop  knighthood.  The  divinity  veiled  in  the 
beauty  and  wonder  of  nature  will  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  boy's  mind  by  pictures  of  the  mountains  and 
of  the  sea.  It  is  good  for  a  child  to  live  with  Millet's 
"  Angelus,"  the  soaring  arches  of  a  great  cathedral, 
and  the  faces  of  heroes  whom  we  wish  to  make  his 
teachers  and  his  friends.  The  pictures  may  be 
adapted  to  the  special  needs  of  the  child,  and  used  as 
tonics  and  reminders.  They  should  be  changed 
from  time  to  time  in  order  that  the  freshness  of  nov- 
elty and  the  power  of  variety  may  be  maintained. 

Another  aid  is  the  wise  control  of  the  child's  read- 


THE  FAMILY  165 

ing.  Good  books  are  not  only  better  for  him;  they 
are  more  interesting.  The  saccharine,  hectic  and 
over-pious  kind,  which  another  generation  produced 
in  large  quantities,  should  be  avoided.  If  a  healthy- 
minded  boy  chances  to  find  one,  he  will  speedily  con- 
sign the  volume  to  the  waste-basket  in  which  it 
belongs.  But  to  place  a  good  book  in  the  hands  of  a 
child  is  to  influence  him  in  one  of  the  deepest  and  most 
lasting  ways  possible.  "  Tell  me  what  you  eat,"  said 
an  old  philosopher,  "  and  I'll  tell  you  what  you  are." 
Find  out  what  books  a  boy  eats  and  they  will  tell  you 
what  he  is  and  what  he  is  going  to  become. 

Wise  direction  and  suggestion  may  be  had  by  any 
parent  who  will  seek  it.  Most  city  libraries  publish 
lists  of  the  best  books  to  be  had,  both  for  boys  and 
for  girls,  carefully  graded  and  classified.  The 
librarians  in  children's  departments  are  usually 
specialists  whose  advice  should  be  secured.  Selec- 
tions from  the  Biblical  narratives,  Bible  stories  retold, 
the  lives  of  Jesus  and  of  the  heroes  of  the  Bible  are 
abundant.  There  are  fascinating  biographies  of  the 
heroes  of  missions  and  of  church  history  written 
especially  for  children.  Stories  of  adventure,  in 
which  the  moral  and  religious  virtues  are  exemplified, 
should  be  used  freely.  The  interest  and  thrill  of  the 
narrative  forms  for  the  boy  the  most  potent  of  ser- 
mons, and  those  silent  hours  spent  in  the  companion- 
ship of  true  knights  and  dauntless  explorers  and 
champions  of  goodness  are  shaping  the  knight  and 
explorer  and  champion  that  is  to  be. 


166  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

The  discussion  of  expressional  activities  is  re- 
served for  another  chapter.  Here  it  is  sufficient  to 
remind  fathers  and  mothers  that  whatever  religion 
is  sung  and  prayed  and  talked  about  will  be  weak  and 
crippled  until  it  has  found  its  way  into  the  hands  and 
feet,  the  work  and  play,  the  deeds  and  habits  of  the 
child.  To  induce  a  boy  to  earn  some  money  to  help 
another  boy  through  a  Christian  school  in  India  will 
do  more  for  his  interest  in  missions  and  his  belief  in 
prayer  than  a  nightly  petition  of  "  O  Lord,  save  the 
heathen,"  which  is  never  practically  expressed.  The 
real  task  is  to  involve  the  whole  boy  in  his  religion, 
and  a  boy  is  more  than  a  brain  and  a  tongue.  His 
consciousness  of  duty  and  of  God  must  flow  forth  in 
the  channels  of  alert  and  affectionate  activity.  The 
home-life  must  seek  and  furnish  opportunities  for  a 
religion  that  works  as  well  as  worships,  and  that  plays 
as  well  as  it  prays. 

Horace  Bushnell's  famous  maxim  was  that  a  child 
ought  to  grow  up  a  Christian  and  never  know  himself 
as  being  otherwise.  Moody  meant  the  same  thing, 
only  expressed  in  terms  of  another  theology,  when  he 
said  that  we  should  train  our  children  and  convert 
them  so  early  that  they  would  never  be  able  to  tell 
when  the  change  was  wrought.  That  is  the  task  of 
the  Christian  home.  It  can  be  done  by  parents  who 
are  in  earnest  about  the  religious  welfare  of  their 
children.  That  it  is  not  being  done,  or  done  poorly, 
is  responsible  for  much  of  the  unsatisfactory  moral 
and  religious  condition  of  our  times. 


THE  FAMILY  167 

The  following  books  containing  family  prayers, 
or  dealing  with  hymns  and  their  stories,  lists  of  pic- 
tures, and  good  books  for  children  will  be  found 
helpful  by  parents  and  teachers. 

Family  Prayers 

Lyman  Abbott,  For  Family  Worship.  Part  I.  Scripture 
Readings.  Part  II.  Family  Prayer.  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co., 
New  York,  1883. 

J.  R.  Miller,  Family  Prayers.  Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons, 
London,  1895. 

F.  B.  Meyer,  Prayers  for  the  Hearth  and  Home,  1894. 

Walter  Rauschenbusch,  Prayers  of  the  Social  Awakening. 
The  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston,  19 10. 

Mary  W.  Tileston,  Prayers  Ancient  and  Modern. 
Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston*  19 12. 

William  Angus  Knight,  Prayers  Ancient  and  Modern.  J. 
M.  Dent  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  London,  19 12. 

Elisabeth  Hamill  Davis,  For  Each  Day  a  Prayer.  Dodge 
Publishing  Co.,  1905. 

God's  Minute.  A  Book  of  365  Daily  Prayers  Sixty  Sec- 
onds Long,  for  Home  Worship.  By  365  eminent  Clergy- 
men and  Laymen.     Baker  &  Taylor  Co.  New  York,  19 16. 

Prayers  from  Plymouth  Pulpit.  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 
A.  C.  Armstrong  &  Son,  1867.  Too  long  for  family  use, 
but  very  helpful  and  suggestive. 

Hymns  and  Their  Stories 

John  Julian,  Dictionary  of  Hymnology.  Charles  Scrib- 
ners'  Sons,  New  York,  1907. 

Charles  Seymour  Robinson,  Annotations  Upon  Popular 
Hymns.     F.    M.   Barton,   Cleveland,   Ohio,    1893. 

Theron  Brown  and  Hezekiah  Butterworth,  The  Story  of 
the  Hymns  and  Tunes.     American  Tract  Society,  1906. 


1 68  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Nicholas  Smith,  Hymns  Historically  Famous.  The  Ad- 
vance Publishing  Co.,  Chicago,  1901. 

W.  Garrett  Horder,  The  Hymn  Lover.  J.  Curwen  & 
Sons,  Ltd.,  London,  3rd  edition. 

Louis  E.  Benson,  The  English  Hymn:  Its  Development 
and  Use.     Hodder  &  Stoughton,  New  York,  191 5. 

Pictures 

Graded  lists  suggested  by  W.  S.  Athearn,  "  The  Church 
School."  The  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston,  1914,  pp.  114-115; 
165-166;  242-243. 

Catalogue,  Perry  Pictures  Co.,  Maiden,  Mass. 

Catalogue,  W.  A.  Wilde  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Catalogue,  George  P.  Brown  &  Co.,  Beverly,  Mass. 

Catalogue,  Cosmos  Picture  Co.,  119  W.  25th  St.,  New 
York. 

Catalogue,  A.  W.  Elson  &  Co.,  146  Oliver  St.,  Boston, 
Mass. 

Catalogue,  Berlin  Photographic  Co.,  14  E.  23d  St.,  New 
York. 

Catalogue,  Braun  &  Co.,  256  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 

Books 

A  Children's  Library.  Selected  by  May  H.  Prentice  and 
Effie  L.  Power,  for  the  Cleveland  Normal  School.  F.  W. 
Roberts  Co.,  Cleveland.  O. 

What  Shall  We  Read  Now?  Compiled  by  the  Free  Pub- 
lic Library  of  East  Orange  N.  J.  and  the  Children's  Room 
of  the  Pratt  Institute  Free  Library,  Brooklyn  N.  Y.  East 
Orange  Record  Print. 

A  Selected  List  of  Recent  Books  for  Children.  Federa- 
tion for  Child  Study,  New  York,  19 14. 

A  Selected  List  of  Books  for  Younger  Readers.  Boston 
Public  Library. 


THE  FAMILY  169 

Books  for  Boys  and  Girls.  Free  Public  Library,  Newark, 
N.J.,i9i6. 

Graded  and  Annotated  Catalog  of  Books  For  Use  in  the 
Schools  of  the  City.     The  Public  Library,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Suggestive  List  of  Children's  Books  for  a  Small  Library. 
Recommended  by  the  League  of  Library  Commissions. 
Democrat  Printing  Co.,  Madison,  Wis.,  19 10. 

Classified  Book  Lists,  W.  S.  Athearn,  "  The  Church 
School."  The  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston,  1914,  pp.  83-84; 
116-119;  169-172;  238-242. 


Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  to  them. 

—  Hebrews  xiii,  17. 

Putting  away  falsehood,   speak  ye   truth   each   one   with   his 
neighbor. 

—  Ephesians  iv,  25. 

But  they  that  deal  truly  are  his  delight. 

—  Proverbs  xii,  22. 

Not  looking  each  of  you  to  his  own  things,  but  each  of  you 
also  to  the  things  of  others. 

—  Philippians  ii,  4. 

But  now  they  are  many  members,  but  one  body. 

—  /  Corinthians  xii,  20. 

A  friend  loveth  at  all  times. 

—  Proverbs  xvii,  17. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    SOCIAL    LIFE THE    SCHOOL 

Another  social  institution  with  which  the  child  is 
associated  is  the  school.  He  soon  emerges  from  the 
family  into  this  new  community.  Here,  as  in  the 
family,  he  interacts  with  beings  constituted  like  him- 
self, and  sustains  relations  similar  to  those  of  the 
family.  Hence,  many  of  his  moral  obligations  here 
are  essentially  the  same  as  there,  and  most  of  the 
virtues  and  vices  which  he  exemplifies  are  also  the 
same.  The  principal  difference  between  the  family 
and  the  school,  so  far  as  the  moral  obligations  are 
concerned,  is  largely  a  difference  of  emphasis.  Cer- 
tain duties  are  emphasised  more  in  the  family  than 
in  the  school,  and  vice  versa.  There  are  some  duties 
growing  out  of  the  natural  relations  of  the  child  to 
the  parents,  and  to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  which 
belong  peculiarly  to  the  family;  and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  the  child  in  his  relations  to  the  school. 
But,  on  the  whole,  the  same  fundamental  moral  obli- 
gations obtain  in  both  social  institutions  —  the 
teacher,  in  a  sense,  taking  the  place  of  the  parent,  and 
his  schoolmates  taking  the  place  of  brothers  and 
sisters.     The   intellectual  virtues,   of  course,   must 

171 


i72  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

receive  special  attention  in  the  school,  as  it  is  specially 
engaged  with  intellectual  functioning.  But  the 
school  is  a  social  institution,  also.  It  is  composed  of 
persons  constantly  interacting  in  a  social  way. 
Hence  the  virtues  relating  to  the  social  life  of  the 
school  must  also  be  considered.  The  pupil  sustains 
special  relations  to  the  teacher,  as  well  as  the 
ordinary  social  relations  to  his  fellow  pupils.  These 
must  be  moralised.  In  other  words  the  pupil  must 
not  only  be  trained  in  the  virtues  and  guarded  against 
the  vices  that  pertain  to  his  intellectual  life,  but  also 
in  those  which  pertain  to  his  social  life  in  the  school. 
As  in  the  family,  so  in  the  school,  obedience  is  one 
of  the  fundamental  virtues  to  receive  consideration. 
It  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  life  of  the  school. 
Certain  rules  and  laws  are  necessary  for  its  existence. 
These  rules  and  laws  are  the  expression  of  the 
teacher's  will,  and  of  the  will  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. They  are  made  in  the  interest  of  all  of  the 
pupils,  and  they  must  be  obeyed  if  these  interests  are 
to  be  properly  conserved.  Social  chaos  would  result 
if  they  were  not  enforced.  Indeed,  one  of  the  marks 
of  an  efficient  teacher  is  the  success  with  which  she 
secures  obedience  to  them.  But  it  is  better  to  secure 
a  willing  than  a  compulsory  or  slavish  obedience.  It 
is  better  to  lead  the  pupil  into  a  rational  appreciation 
of  their  worth,  and  to  secure  conformity  to  them 
from  such  motives,  rather  than  through  an  assertion 
of  mere  arbitrary  authority.  The  pupil's  obedience 
then  takes  on  a  real  moral  character,  and  the  moral 


THE  SCHOOL  173 

atmosphere  of  the  school  becomes  more  wholesome. 
This  is  a  very  important  matter.  The  attitude  of 
many  children  toward  the  teacher  is  similar  to  the 
attitude  of  many  people  toward  the  law,  and  toward 
those  who  enforce  it.  It  is  an  attitude  of  inward  hos- 
tility. The  law  is  the  friend  of  every  right-minded 
citizen,  and  so  is  he  who  properly  executes  it. 
Laws  are  made,  as  a  rule,  in  the  interests  of  the 
common  weal,  and  the  more  we  can  lead  citizens  to 
realise  and  appreciate  this  fact,  the  more  willingly 
and  graciously  do  they  conform  to  them.  The 
result  is  a  higher  type  of  citizenship.  So  it  is  in 
the  school.  The  more  we  can  lead  the  pupil  to 
realise  that  the  rules  and  laws  of  the  school  are  made 
for  his  benefit,  and  that  the  teacher  enforces  them 
simply  because  they  are  for  his  interests,  the  more 
readily  and  graciously  will  he  submit  to  them.  We 
develop  in  this  way  a  higher  kind  of  school  citizen- 
ship. Then  the  teacher's  task  becomes  easier,  and 
the  pupil's  obedience  becomes  truly  moral. 

Probably  next  in  importance  of  the  virtues  relat- 
ing to  school  life  is  justice.  The  sense  of  justice  is 
instinctive  with  man.  It  is  rooted  in  his  sense  of 
what  belongs  to  him  as  a  personal  being.  Any  vio- 
lation of  this  instinct  gives  rise  to  a  feeling  of  resent- 
ment or  retaliation.  Justice  calls  for  "  fair  play  " 
in  the  interaction  of  man  with  man.  Hence  it  lies 
at  the  foundations  of  society  as  organised  under  gov- 
ernment; and  since  the  school  is  a  governing  body, 
its  rules  and  laws  should  duly  respect  the  rights  of 


i74  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

all  its  members.  Every  pupil  should  stand  on  an 
equality  before  the  school  law.  There  must  be  no 
partiality  either  in  school  legislation  or  in  the  appli- 
cation or  enforcement  of  school  laws.  Special 
privileges  to  particular  pupils  should  not  be  granted 
unless  it  be  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating  good 
work  and  good  conduct,  and  then  they  are  not  really 
special,  for  such  privileges  are  open  to  all.  Impar- 
tiality of  law  and  its  enforcement  creates  an 
atmosphere  of  justice  in  the  school  which  is  very 
potent  in  the  moralisation  of  its  pupils. 

Play  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  to  teach 
justice  to  children  in  their  relations  one  with 
another.  Fair  play  in  sport  must  be  insisted  upon. 
Cheating,  trickery  of  all  sorts,  must  be  prohibited 
and  punished  whenever  discovered.  This  makes  it 
eminently  desirable,  indeed  necessary,  that  the 
teacher,  or  the  supervisor  of  sports,  if  there  be  one 
in  the  school,  should  take  charge  of  the  games. 
Clean,  wholesome,  fair  play  helps  to  establish  the 
pupil  in  a  virtue  that  is  fundamental  to  all  social 
life. 

But  this  virtue  should  receive  more  formal  atten- 
tion. In  a  course  of  moral  and  religious  training 
justice  as  a  virtue  to  be  exemplified  in  social  life 
should  be  brought  to  the  child's  attention  as  an 
exceedingly  important  virtue.  This  may  be  done 
by  reading  and  telling  stories  embodying  justice  as  it 
relates  to  home,  school,  and  community  life.  There 
is  sufficient  literature  of  this  kind,  especially  as  it 


THE  SCHOOL  175 

relates  to  fair  play  in  sport,  available,  and  the  parent 
and  teacher  will  do  well  to  make  themselves  familiar 
with  it,  so  that  they  may  be  able  to  supplement  the 
lesson  of  the  moral  and  religious  reader  by  narrating 
one  or  more  stories  of  their  own  selection.  The 
rewards  and  punishments  of  justice  and  injustice  as 
these  are  brought  out  in  stories  of  fair  play  and 
stories  of  injustice  and  cheating,  will  surely  find  a 
most  sympathetic  response  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
children.  These  rewards  and  punishments  take  on 
the  form  of  social  approbation  and  disapprobation 
to  which  the  child  is  very  susceptible.  More  will  be 
said  as  to  the  significance  of  this  social  virtue  when 
we  come  to  the  chapter  on  the  community  and  the 
state;  but  it  is  necessary  to  deal  with  justice  in  its 
relation  to  the  smaller  community,  both  for  its  own 
good,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  larger  social  relations 
which  the  pupils  will  sustain  later  in  life. 

Honesty  is  a  virtue  that  calls  for  special  considera- 
tion as  it  relates  to  school  life.  And  it  calls  for 
recognition  very  early  in  the  pupil's  career,  as  early 
indeed  as  the  kindergarten  period.  The  distinc- 
tions between  mine  and  thine  are  not  well  known  to 
the  very  young  child.  Gradually  he  acquires  a 
knowledge  of  them,  often  through  painful  experi- 
ence. But  knowledge  does  not  necessarily  establish 
him  in  virtue,  and  the  tendency  to  appropriate  the 
property  of  others  manifests  itself  from  time  to 
time.  In  school  he  finds  himself  surrounded  with 
the  property  of  others,  much  of  which  belongs  to  the 


176  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

public,  and  some  of  it  to  his  fellow  pupils.  For  his 
own  good,  as  well  as  for  the  good  of  the  school,  it  is 
important  that  he  should  develop  an  honest  regard 
for  the  possessions  of  others.  He  must  not  dishon- 
estly appropriate  either  the  property  of  the  school 
or  the  property  of  his  schoolmates.  How  strong  a 
temptation  the  latter  may  prove  will  depend  some- 
what on  the  abundance  of  others'  possessions  as  com- 
pared with  his  own.  The  child  often  smarts  under  a 
sense  of  injustice  in  this  respect.  He  can  not  under- 
stand why  another  child  should  have  so  much  more 
than  himself  when  the  other  child  seems  no  more 
deserving,  not  having  earned  it  for  himself;  and 
the  temptation  to  equalise  matters  comes  to  him. 
Again,  if  the  favoured  schoolmate  be  selfish  or  un- 
generous in  the  use  of  his  own  possessions,  failing  to 
share  them,  to  some  extent  at  least,  with  his  fellow 
pupils,  such  a  lack  of  generosity  may  constitute  a 
temptation  to  theft  on  the  part  of  the  less  favoured. 
In  dealing  with  the  virtue  of  honesty  and  the  vice 
of  dishonesty,  a  good  mode  of  procedure  is  to  de- 
velop the  sense  of  ownership  in  each  pupil.  Teach 
him  to  collect  things  and  to  add  to  them  by  service. 
That  which  he  earns  he  will  prize,  and  it  will,  at  the 
same  time,  develop  in  him  an  appreciation  of  owner- 
ship on  the  part  of  others.  He  will  then  know  that 
another's  possessions  cost  the  owner  something  and 
will  hesitate  to  steal  from  him.  "  To  own  also 
teaches  respect  for  others'  possessions;  and  even  the 
greed   for   gain   by   those   who   have   much   rarely 


THE  SCHOOL  177 

prompts  theft.  Stealing  is  the  vice  of  the  ownerless. 
To  have  what  has  cost  pain,  effort,  and  denial  to  get, 
gives  a  just  sense  of  worth  and  best  teaches  what 
real  ownership,  which  should  always  and  everywhere 
represent  service,  means.  Those  who  have  felt  the 
joy  of  possessing  the  well-earned  fruits  of  toil  are 
least  liable  to  rob  others  of  them."  1  Parents 
should  co-operate  with  teachers  here.  Children's 
possessions  are  originally  acquired  in  the  home,  and 
were  the  parents  to  condition  their  ownership  largely 
upon  service,  it  would  undoubtedly  make  for  honesty 
in  the  child.  This  sense  of  ownership  manifests 
itself  very  early  in  the  child's  history,  and  therefore 
the  parent  is  primarily  responsible  for  its  moral- 
isation. 

But  honesty  and  dishonesty  may  be  dealt  with  also 
by  means  of  the  story  method.  The  rewards  of  the 
former  and  the  penalties  of  the  latter  should  be 
presented  to  the  child  in  stories  relating  to  com- 
munity life.  The  sense  of  ownership  is  so  strong  in 
children  that  it  is  easy,  through  sympathy,  for  a  boy 
or  girl  to  put  himself  or  herself  in  the  position  of  one 
who  has  suffered  from  theft,  and  they  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  punishment  meted  out  to  the  thief. 
The  same  thing  is  true  concerning  their  sympathy 
with  honesty  and  its  rewards,  especially  when  they 
read  or  are  told  of  an  honest  act  performed  by  a  boy 
or  girl. 

The  next  virtue  to  be  dealt  with  in  its  relation  to 

iHall,  Educational  Problems,  Vol.  I,  pp.  255-256. 


178  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

school  life  is  the  virtue  of  truth.  As  the  school  in 
its  social  life  is  in  many  respects  a  larger  family,  all 
that  has  been  said  of  this  virtue  in  its  relation  to  the 
family  applies  equally  to  the  school.  Truth  in 
speech,  conduct,  and  spirit  is  one  of  the  foundation 
stones  of  the  school  viewed  as  a  social  institution. 
Here  let  it  be  stated  again  that  the  teacher  should 
acquaint  herself  with  the  psychology  of  falsehood  as 
it  manifests  itself  in  children,  so  that  she  may  be 
capable  of  forming  a  correct  judgment  concerning 
their  veracity.  She  will  soon  discover  that  all  so- 
called  "  children's  lies  "  are  not  really  lies.  Hall, 
Compayre,  Perez,  Sully,  Stern,  and  others  have 
given  careful  attention  to  this  matter,  and  it  is  evi- 
dent from  their  work  that  in  dealing  with  children's 
lies  we  must  take  into  consideration  the  child's 
instinct  to  secrete  things,  the  dramatic  instinct  or  the 
desire  to  play  a  part,  which  leads  to  deception,  the 
vivid  fancy  and  imagination  of  children  which  leads 
to  illusions  and  to  exaggeration,  the  desire  to  please, 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  childhood,  and  which 
leads  to  insincerity,  the  apprehension  of  giving 
offence,  which  often  results  in  misrepresentation  of 
the  facts,  etc.1  These  are  things  that  must  be  taken 
into  consideration  in  determining  our  judgments  in 
regard  to  children's  lies.  When  this  is  done,  our 
judgments  will  probably  be  softened.  Nevertheless 
children  do  lie,  and  there  are  many  opportunities 
associated  with   school  life  which   afford   sufficient 

1Ci.  Sully,  Studies  of  Childhood,  New  York,  1896,  pp.  252-266. 


THE  SCHOOL  179 

temptation.  Such  temptation  usually  arises  in  con- 
nection with  discipline.  The  school  is  a  governing 
body,  and,  as  such,  it  must  have  rules  and  laws,  and 
penalties  for  their  violation.  Fear  of  these  penal- 
ties impels  the  disobedient  child  to  falsify.  Locke, 
in  his  celebrated  "  Thoughts  Concerning  Educa- 
tion," has  made  some  wise  remarks  on  this  subject 
which  both  parent  and  teacher  might  ponder  over  to 
advantage :  — 

"  Lying,"  he  says,  "  is  so  ready  and  cheap  a  Cover 
for  any  Miscarriage,  and  so  much  in  Fashion  among 
all  Sorts  of  People,  that  a  Child  can  hardly  avoid 
observing  the  use  made  of  it  on  all  Occasions,  and 
so  can  scarce  be  kept  without  great  Care  from  get- 
ting into  it.  But  it  is  so  ill  a  Quality,  and  the 
Mother  of  so  many  ill  ones  that  spawn  from  it,  and 
take  shelter  under  it,  that  a  Child  should  be  brought 
up  in  the  greatest  Abhorrence  of  it  imaginable.  It 
should  be  always  (when  occasionally  it  comes  to  be 
mention'd)  spoke  of  before  him  with  the  utmost 
Detestation,  as  a  Quality  so  wholly  inconsistent  with 
the  Name  and  Character  of  a  Gentleman,  that  no 
body  of  any  Credit  can  bear  the  Imputation  of  a  Lie; 
a  Mark  that  is  judg'd  the  utmost  Disgrace,  which 
debases  a  Man  to  the  lowest  Degree  of  a  shameful 
Meanness,  and  ranks  him  with  the  most  contemptible 
Part  of  Mankind  and  the  abhorred  Rascality;  and  is 
not  to  be  endured  in  any  one  who  would  converse 
with  People  of  Condition,  or  have  any  Esteem  or 
Reputation  in  the  World.     The   first  Time  he  is 


180  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

found  in  a  Lie,  it  should  rather  be  wondered  at  as  a 
monstrous  Thing  in  him,  than  reproved  as  an 
ordinary  Fault.  If  that  keeps  him  not  from  relaps- 
ing, the  next  Time  he  must  be  sharply  rebuked,  and 
fall  into  the  State  of  great  Displeasure  of  his  Father 
and  Mother  and  all  about  him  who  take  Notice  of  it. 
And  if  this  Way  work  not  the  Cure,  you  must  come 
to  Blows;  for  after  he  has  been  thus  warned,  a  pre- 
meditated Lie  must  always  be  looked  upon  as  Ob- 
stinacy, and  never  be  permitted  to  escape  un- 
punished. 

"  Children,  afraid  to  have  their  Faults  seen  in 
their  naked  Colours,  will,  like  the  rest  of  the  Sons 
of  Adam,  be  apt  to  make  Excuses.  This  is  a  Fault 
usually  bordering  upon,  and  leading  to  Untruth,  and 
is  not  to  be  indulged  in  them;  but  yet  it  ought  to  be 
cured  rather  with  Shame  than  Roughness.  If  there- 
fore, when  a  Child  is  questioned  for  any  Thing,  his 
first  Answer  be  an  Excuse,  warn  him  soberly  to  tell 
the  Truth;  and  then  if  he  persists  to  shuffle  it  off  with 
a  Falsehood,  he  must  be  chastised;  but  if  he  directly 
confess,  you  must  commend  his  Ingenuity,  and 
pardon  the  Fault,  be  it  what  it  will;  and  pardon  it 
so,  that  you  never  so  much  as  reproach  him  with  it, 
or  mention  it  to  him  again :  For  if  you  would  have 
him  in  love  with  Ingenuity,  and  by  a  constant 
practice  make  it  habitual  to  him,  you  must  take  care 
that  it  never  procure  him  the  least  Inconvenience; 
but  on  the  contrary,  his  own  Confession  bringing 
always  with  it  perfect  Impunity,  should  be  besides 


THE  SCHOOL  181 

encouraged  by  some  Marks  of  Approbation.  If  his 
Excuse  be  such  at  any  time  that  you  cannot  prove  it 
to  have  any  Falsehood  in  it,  let  it  pass  for  true,  and 
be  sure  not  to  shew  any  Suspicion  of  it.  Let  him 
keep  up  his  Reputation  with  you  as  high  as  is  pos- 
sible; for  when  once  he  finds  he  has  lost  that,  you 
have  lost  a  great,  and  your  best  Hold  upon  him. 
Therefore  let  him  not  think  he  has  the  Character  of 
a  Liar  with  you,  as  long  as  you  can  avoid  it  without 
flattering  him  in  it."  * 

But  there  is  a  brighter  side  to  all  this.  The  child 
is  more  disposed  to  truth  than  falsehood,  and  the 
teacher  should  reckon  with  this  fact.  A  high  regard 
for  the  truth  should  be  cultivated  in  the  child  by 
pointing  out  its  value  and  its  rewards  as  these  relate 
to  school  life,  as  well  as  to  life  in  general. 

Another  point  should  be  noticed  here.  Parents 
and  teachers  should  be  especially  on  their  guard  with 
reference  to  their  own  conduct  in  relation  to  this 
virtue.  The  child  is  a  realist.  He  is  a  literalist. 
He  does  not  make  fine  distinctions  between  motive- 
less actions  and  actions  prompted  by  motives.  If 
the  teacher  or  parent  be  careless  in  her  statement  of 
fact,  it  sometimes  means  falsehood  to  the  child. 
Beware  of  inexact  and  of  exaggerated  statements. 
They  not  only  react  on  your  own  mental  life,  but 
often  lead  to  misinterpretation  on  the  part  of  the 
child. 

1  Locke,  Some  Thoughts  Concerning  Education,  edited  by  R.  M. 
Quick,   Cambridge  and  London,   1889,  pp.    11 3-1 15. 


1 82  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

To  discuss  with  children  the  question  whether  a 
lie  is  ever  justifiable,  and  if  so,  under  what  circum- 
stances, is  to  weaken  the  pupil's  regard  for  the  truth. 
Such  questions,  if  they  have  a  place  in  moral  training 
at  all,  belong  to  a  later  period  in  the  life  of  the  indi- 
vidual. The  discussion  of  such  questions  with  chil- 
dren of  the  age  represented  in  the  grades  is  not  only 
profitless,  but  may  prove  positively  harmful.  Many 
writers  believe  that,  under  some  circumstances,  a  lie 
is  justifiable.  If  the  teacher  or  parent  so  believes, 
nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  raising  the  question  with 
children  and  presenting  this  view.  The  child  is 
not  mature  enough  to  make  the  distinctions  which 
are  involved  in  such  a  position.  One  is  dealing  here 
with  a  part  of  the  general  question  of  the  relativity 
of  right  and  wrong,  the  consideration  of  which 
belongs  to  a  much  later  period  in  life. 

Another  virtue  belonging  to  school  life  is  courtesy. 
In  their  interactions  with  the  teacher  and  their 
schoolmates  the  children  ought  to  be  courteous.  In 
its  highest  form  courtesy  is  the  expression  of  good 
will,  and,  as  such,  it  is  pre-eminently  a  moral  thing. 
Gentle  manners  are  not  only  indicative  of  refinement, 
but  represent  often  a  moral  attitude.  The  im- 
portance of  this  virtue  is  not  yet  sufficiently  appre- 
ciated, and  therefore  not  sufficiently  emphasised  in 
our  schools.  In  the  family,  school,  or  community 
our  social  feelings  manifest  themselves  in  conduct. 
It  is  well  therefore  that  the  child  should  be  taught  to 
give  them  a  fitting  expression  in  action;  for  on  such 


THE  SCHOOL  183 

expression  depends  a  large  proportion  of  his  own 
happiness  and  general  well-being,  as  well  as  the  hap- 
piness and  general  well-being  of  others. 

The  school  affords  excellent  opportunities  to  train 
children  in  good  manners.  It  is  a  small  community 
in  itself,  and  relations  to  superiors,  equals,  and 
inferiors  are  to  be  found  here.  The  teacher  has 
thus  an  opportunity  to  cultivate  good  manners  on 
the  part  of  children  which  presents  itself  to  compar- 
atively few,  and  it  is  especially  incumbent  upon  her 
since  she  deals  with  so  many  children  who,  because  of 
their  home  surroundings,  have  not  the  opportunity 
for  much  culture  of  this  kind. 

The  teacher  should  herself  be  acquainted  with, 
and  practised  in,  the  code  of  etiquette  that  prevails 
in  cultured  society  —  at  least  so  far  as  this  has  to  do 
with  the  more  fundamental  modes  of  social  inter- 
action —  so  that  she  will  not  only  be  an  example  to 
her  pupils,  but  will  be  able  to  acquaint  them  with 
the  code  and  practise  them  in  it.  Much  of  this,  of 
course,  calls  for  direct  instruction  and  immediate 
practice  in  the  schools.  There  should  be  certain 
requirements  in  the  way  of  greeting,  in  question  and 
answer,  and  in  showing  deference  and  respect. 
There  ought  to  be  "  Good  morning,  Miss  Adams," 
instead  of  merely  "  Good  morning,"  or  instead  of 
no  greeting  at  all.  There  ought  to  be  "  Yes,  Miss 
Adams,"  instead  of  merely  "  Yes  "  in  answer  to  a 
question;  or  "  No,  Miss  Adams,"  instead  of  merely 
11  No."     If  the   pupil  must  pass   in   front   of  the 


184  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

teacher,  he  should  be  taught  to  ask  to  be  excused  for 
so  doing.  In  other  words,  there  ought  to  be  a  well- 
defined  body  of  social  etiquette  governing  the  school; 
and  inasmuch  as  the  social  relations  of  pupils  to 
teacher  and  fellow  pupils  are  primarily  the  same  as 
those  which  obtain  in  the  community  at  large,  the 
body  of  etiquette  should  therefore  be  that  which 
prevails  in  what  is  commonly  called  "  good  society." 
A  school  that  expresses  its  social  life  in  this  manner 
is  a  morally  wholesome  school;  for  conduct  not  only 
reflects  the  inner  life,  but  also  reacts  upon  it,  and 
good  manners  cannot  help  but  have  a  moralising 
influence  upon  the  spirit  of  the  child. 

To  courtesy  add  kindness.  No  one  will  be  dis- 
posed to  question  such  counsel,  if  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  school  children  are  often  very  unkind. 
This  may  be  due  at  times  to  lack  of  imagination,  or 
to  thoughtlessness,  or  to  a  lack  of  sympathy,  or  to 
downright  meanness  and  brutality.  But  whatever 
it  may  be  due  to,  it  works  injury  to  its  object,  as  well 
as  demoralisation  in  some  measure  to  its  author. 
There  is  a  heartlessness  manifest  sometimes  in  school 
children  that  to  older  people  seems  almost  inhuman. 
At  times  some  at  least  seem  to  enjoy  teasing  others 
in  a  manner  which  often  approaches  torture.  Bully- 
ing is  an  example  of  unkindness  which  borders  on 
brutality.  A  big  boy  taking  advantage  of  his  su- 
perior strength  to  enforce  his  will  on  a  smaller  boy 
is    not    an    edifying,    although    a    common,    sight. 


THE  SCHOOL  185 

Making  fun  of  physical  defects  and  of  personal 
peculiarities  in  other  children  is  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon among  children.  A  kind  of  snobbishness  that 
excludes  certain  children  from  certain  social  groups, 
and  from  certain  sports,  or  other  pleasures,  also 
causes  needless  pain.  In  these,  and  in  many  other 
ways,  unkindness  is  manifest  among  school  children. 
It  mars  the  social  life  of  the  school,  and,  in  many 
instances,  causes  children  who  are  the  sufferers  not 
only  to  lose  interest  in  it,  but  also  to  regard  the 
school  as  a  place  of  fear  and  dread,  thus  handicap- 
ping the  teacher  in  her  work.  The  teacher  should 
aim  to  supplant  all  this  by  cultivating  in  the  children 
under  her  care  a  spirit  of  mutual  kindness.  With 
the  self-centredness  and  self-assertion  so  character- 
istic of  childhood  this  is  not  an  easy  task.  But  there 
is  a  constitutional  altruism  in  the  child  as  well  as 
egoism,  and  this  is  capable  of  development  at  a  very 
early  age.  The  teacher  should  take  advantage  of 
this  fact  in  her  attempts  to  develop  the  virtue  of 
kindness. 

Kindness  often  leads  to  generosity ,  and  both  to 
friendship,  although  friendship  with  children  is  also 
determined  by  other  considerations,  such  as  affinities, 
social  position,  geographical  location,  etc.  Some  of 
these  friendships  formed  at  school  are  among  the 
most  lasting  and  most  delightful,  and  all  that  makes 
for  true  friendship  should  be  encouraged  by  the 
teacher. 


1 86  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

All  the  social  virtues  and  vices  of  school  life 
should  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  story  method, 
even  though  in  some  instances  the  more  formal 
method  may  be  desirable.  It  is  greatly  to  be  re- 
gretted that  among  the  innumerable  children's  stories 
that  flood  the  market  so  few  of  them  deal  with  school 
life.  Wholesome  stories,  embodying  important 
moral  lessons  relating  to  school  life,  are  a  desid- 
eratum, and  some  successful  writer  of  children's 
stories  would  serve  not  only  his  or  her  generation, 
but  future  generations  as  well,  by  providing  litera- 
ture of  this  kind. 

It  should  be  said,  also,  that  play  affords  a  splendid 
opportunity  to  put  into  practice  many  of  the  social 
virtues,  and  to  guard  against  many  of  the  social  vices. 
A  wise  teacher  will  take  advantage  of  this  splendid 
opportunity  to  make  vital,  to  clothe  with  flesh  and 
blood,  the  important  moral  lessons  that  she  is  deal- 
ing with  in  the  schoolroom.  In  the  class  she  makes 
the  virtuous  or  vicious  characters  live  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  child ;  but  on  the  playground  she  gives  the 
children  an  object  lesson  in  actual  life.  Lessons  in 
the  virtues  of  fairness,  kindness,  generosity,  co- 
operation, and  the  corresponding  vices  especially 
may  be  learned  from  play.  Wise  teachers  will  not 
absent  themselves  from  the  playground,  even  where 
a  supervisor  of  play  is  employed.  Rather  will  they 
participate  in  the  play  of  the  children,  and  make 
their  participation  a  means  of  inculcating  important 
moral  lessons,  and  a  means  of  establishing  the  chil- 


THE  SCHOOL  187 

dren  in  the  important  virtues  that  ought  to  obtain 
on  the  playground,  and  which  constitute  so  large  a 
part  of  the  well-being  of  the  individual  and  of 
society. 

A  graded  scheme  of  virtues  that  relate  to  the  social 
life  of  the  school,  and  a  list  of  stories  that  illustrate 
them,  may  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  next  chapter. 


It  is  a  well-known  psychological  fact  that  the  conscience  of 
children  is  formed  by  the  influences  that  surround  them; 
and  that  their  notions  of  good  and  evil  are  the  result  of 
the  moral  atmosphere  they  breathe. 

—  Jean   Paul  Richter. 

The  things  which  ye  both  learned  and  received  and  heard 
and  saw  in  me,  these  things  do:  and  the  God  of  peace 
shall  be  with  you. 

—  Philippians,  iv,  9. 

Ill  paterns  are  sure  to  be  followed  more  than  good  rule9. 

—  John  Locke. 

A  true  life  is  at  once  interpreter  and  proof  of  the  Gospel. 

—  John  G.  Whittier, 

Let  your  light  shine  before  men ;  that  they  may  see  your  good 
works,  and  glorify  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

—  Matthew  v,  16. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  SOCIAL  life  —  the  school      (Continued) 

As  in  the  home,  so  in  the  school,  the  moral  and 
religious  atmosphere  is  a  powerful  influence  in  the 
moral  and  spiritual  training  of  the  child.  Modern 
biological  science  has  made  us  familiar  with  the  in- 
fluence of  environment  in  moulding  the  individual. 
The  old  problem  as  to  the  result  of  transporting 
twenty  Boston  babies  to  Timbuctoo  has  no  uncertain 
answer.  They  would  grow  up  like  natives.  Some 
advantages  of  their  heredity  might,  indeed,  appear; 
but  in  their  manners  and  customs,  and  in  their 
standards  of  life,  they  would  resemble  their  black 
neighbours.  They  would  be  shaped  by  their  sur- 
roundings. Indeed,  a  biologist  has  stated  recently 
that  nurture  rather  than  nature  is  the  more  powerful 
factor  in  human  culture.  That  is,  environment 
counts  for  more  than  heredity  in  the  development  of 
the  individual.1  This  shaping  process  is  very  mani- 
fest and  effective  in  the  power  of  social  environment. 
When  a  great  English  schoolmaster  spoke  of  the 
"  almighty  wall,"  he  meant  that  architecture  is  a 
moral  influence  in  education.  The  money  which  the 
community  spends  in  the  erection  of  good  school 

1  Conn,  Social  Heredity  and  Social  Evolution,  New  York,  1914. 

189 


i9o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

buildings  is  profitably  spent,  and  bears  fruit  in  better 
citizenship.  It  is  important  for  the  spirit  of  the 
school  that  the  pupils  should  be  proud  of  it.  The 
great  schools  of  England  bring  to  bear  upon  youth 
the  impression  of  their  strength,  dignity,  and  charm. 
The  lines  of  their  noble  walls,  the  ivy  overgrowing 
them,  the  trees  and  lawns  about  them,  encourage 
self-respect  and  courtesy.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
traditional  brutality  of  life  in  our  country  school 
a  few  generations  ago  was  intimately  connected  with 
the  bare  ugliness  of  the  ordinary  country  school- 
house.  The  place  offered  no  suggestion  of  gentle 
manners. 

The  master  of  a  school  who  found  that  the  boys 
misused  the  halls,  scribbling  on  the  walls,  throwing 
things  around  carelessly,  breaking  the  glass  globes  of 
the  gas  jets,  and  playing  rough  games,  changed  the 
situation,  not  by  making  new  rules  or  devising  new 
punishments,  but  by  improving  the  halls.  He  re- 
formed the  manners  of  the  boys  by  repainting  the 
dingy  corridors,  hanging  them  with  attractive  pic- 
tures, and  improving  the  general  order.  For  order 
invites  order,  and  the  perception  that  the  school  au- 
thorities care  for  the  comfort  and  the  pleasure  of 
the  children  calls  out  a  quick  response. 

In  like  manner  a  moral  lesson  is  taught  by  the 
appearance  of  the  schoolyard.  Its  carefully  kept 
and  well-painted  fence,  its  inviting  gateway,  the  neat- 
ness of  the  playground,  the  tended  trees  with  seats 
under  them,  the  shrubs  which  soften  the  sharp  cor- 


THE  SCHOOL  191 

ners,  are  lessons  in  the  possibilities  of  plots  of 
ground.  They  show  how  a  proper  yard  should 
look.  They  are  a  constant  criticism  upon  the  litter, 
disorder,  and  bareness  of  the  yard  at  home.  When 
it  is  perceived  that  all  papers  which  are  thrown  down 
are  regularly  picked  up,  especially  when  the  children 
themselves  are  delegated  to  pick  them  up,  an  instruc- 
tion is  given  in  one  of  the  elements  of  good  citizen- 
ship. The  children  are  taught  not  only  the  satisfac- 
tion of  neatness  and  order,  but  the  obligation  of 
social  responsibility.  They  learn  that  they  are  indi- 
vidually responsible  for  the  general  appearance  of 
the  school,  and  they  readily  proceed  to  a  recognition 
of  their  similar  relation  to  the  town. 

In  such  ways  the  school  surrounds  the  life  of  youth 
with  aesthetic  ideals  which  affect  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual life  of  its  pupils.  The  yard  outside,  and  the 
halls  and  rooms  inside,  are  clean  and  neat  and  in 
order.  There  are  not  only  maps,  but  pictures  on 
the  walls,  and  flowers  in  the  windows.  The  physical 
aspect  of  the  place  assists  the  discipline  of  the  school. 
For  disorder  without  invites  dfsorder  within,  and 
there  is  a  vital  connection  between  clean  surround- 
ings and  a  clean  spirit,  just  as  there  is  between  clean 
hands  and  a  pure  heart. 

How  far  this  example  of  cleanliness,  neatness,  and 
order  may  profitably  be  carried  into  direct  precept  is 
a  disputed  question.  Setting  good  advice  in  framed 
mottoes  on  the  walls,  and  the  writing  and  rewriting 
of  moral  and  religious  maxims  in  copy  books,  is  not 


i92  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

very  effective.  If  it  seems  well  to  teach  morals  by 
means  of  such  printed  counsels,  it  is  necessary  to 
keep  in  mind  the  need  of  novelty  as  an  aid  to  influ- 
ence. The  motto  which  says  the  same  thing  clay 
after  day  becomes  a  part  of  the  conventional  environ- 
ment, like  the  walls  and  windows,  and  ceases  to  at- 
tract attention.  But  the  arranging  of  a  series  of 
good  sentences  to  fit  the  same  frames,  and  the  chang- 
ing of  them  week  by  week,  takes  into  account  the 
psychological  conditions  under  which  actual  impres- 
sions are  made. 

The  same  arrangement  holds  good  in  regard  to 
school  pictures.  After  the  same  picture  has  hung 
in  the  same  place  on  the  same  wall  for  several 
months  the  children  cease  to  see  it.  Put  in  another, 
and  call  attention  to  it,  with  some  interpretation  of 
its  meaning,  and  there  is  a  new  effect.  In  private 
schools  we  can  use  many  pictures  which  have  been 
found  by  experience  to  be  most  uplifting,  for  reli- 
gious art  is  prolific  in  this  respect.  The  purpose  is 
to  make  the  walls  speak,  and  whatever  picture  tells 
an  instructive  moral  or  religious  story  is  in  the  line 
of  our  intention. 

Kindness  to  animals  is  easily  taught  in  pictures. 
The  happiness  of  domestic  affection;  the  contrasting 
consequences  of  idleness,  selfishness,  and  intemper- 
ance; the  splendour  of  courage  in  the  face  of  peril 
on  land  and  sea;  these  and  other  lessons  may  be 
brought  to  the  assistance  of  youth  by  means  of  the 


THE  SCHOOL  193 

illustrations  which  enliven  the  walls  of  the  school- 
room, like  pictures  in  a  book. 

The  morals  of  good  citizenship  are  naturally  en- 
forced by  such  pictorial  teaching.  The  pictures  will 
show  the  faces  of  the  leaders  and  heroes  of  the  na- 
tion and  of  the  events  in  which  they  enacted  their 
great  parts.  The  explorers,  the  colonists,  the  sol- 
diers of  the  determining  wars  will  appear  in  illustra- 
tion, and  the  children  will  learn  the  fact  that  the  na- 
tion was  established  by  self-sacrifice,  and  that  the 
blessings  of  our  present  life  became  possible  by  the 
pain  and  hardship  of  those  who  suffered  for  our 
sake.  Other  pictures  will  show  the  wonders  and 
beauties  of  our  country,  its  cities,  plains,  mountains, 
harvests. 

The  morals  of  international  relationships  may  be 
shown  in  pictures.  The  depicting  of  the  actual  hor- 
rors of  wars  in  contrast  with  the  peaceful  and  just 
settlements  of  the  Hague  Tribunal  may  assist  a 
citizenship  in  which  patience  and  intelligence  may 
take  the  place  of  passion.  Other  lands  may  be  made 
to  yield  their  interest  in  pictures  of  their  scenery  and 
people.  The  horizon  of  human  relationship  may 
thus  be  widened. 

Every  morning  in  the  private  school,  whether  it  be 
a  day  school  or  a  boarding  school,  the  exercises  of 
the  day  should  begin  with  a  religious  service.  It 
should  consist  of  reading  some  simple  selection  from 
the  Scriptures,  singing  of  a  fitting  hymn,  and  offer- 


194 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 


ing  an  appropriate  prayer.  There  should  be  a 
unity  in  the  service,  so  that  there  may  be  a  unity  and 
strength  of  impression.  It  is  necessary  that  these 
services  should  be  simple,  for  it  must  be  kept  in  mind 
that  we  are  dealing  in  this  volume  with  children, 
rather  than  with  youth.  While  there  are  advantages 
in  a  more  or  less  uniform  service,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  children  love  the  freshness  involved  in 
change,  so  that  there  should  be  some  variety  in  the 
Scriptural  readings,  hymns,  and  prayers.  Certain 
manuals  and  lectionaries  might  be  used  as  a  guide. 
But  even  here  the  teacher  must  be  guided  more  or 
less  by  his  or  her  own  judgment,  because,  as  a  rule, 
we  cannot,  under  the  conditions  of  the  private  school, 
have  a  graded  service.  Usually  the  entire  school 
membership  participates  in  the  same  service.  When 
properly  conducted,  such  a  daily  service  constitutes 
an  important  element  in  the  religious  atmosphere  of 
the  school. 

The  daily  discipline  of  a  good  school  is  a  constant 
lesson  in  morals.  The  idea  of  order  that  is  sug- 
gested in  the  appearance  of  the  school  is  here  per- 
ceived in  action.  There  is  a  regulated  system  into 
which  the  individual  must  enter.  He  must  subordi- 
nate his  own  desires  and  impulses  to  the  general  so- 
cial welfare.  Thus  he  learns  the  elementary  virtue 
of  obedience.  He  takes  orders  and  obeys  them. 
He  becomes  accustomed  to  an  authority  which  he 
must  respect.  Upon  the  virtue  of  obedience  depend 
both  the  happiness  and  goodness  of  the  child  and  the 


THE  SCHOOL  195 

peace  of  the  community.  The  daily  discipline  which 
demands  this  virtue  is  essential  to  our  moral  welfare. 
It  is  a  kind  of  preventive  treatment,  dealing  with  the 
early  symptoms  of  the  disease  of  lawlessness  which 
menaces  our  cities  like  a  plague. 

The  discipline  that  is  founded  on  the  virtue  of 
obedience  teaches  self-restraint,  patience,  steadfast- 
ness, mastery  of  difficult  tasks,  consideration  for  the 
rights  of  others,  and  many  other  social  qualities. 
The  quiet  room,  the  enforced  attention,  the  required 
courtesy  of  speech  and  conduct,  the  necessity  of  ac- 
complishment, the  obligation  of  order,  are  all  parts 
of  a  moral  and  religious  atmosphere  in  which  chil- 
dren live  much  of  their  time. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  plain  that  this  influence  is  by  no 
means  universally  effective.  Boys  and  girls  go  out 
from  the  discipline  of  the  school,  some  of  them 
greatly  helped,  others  apparently  unaffected.  This 
is  in  part  by  reason  of  the  differences  in  tempera- 
ment, and  of  the  differences  in  the  conditions  of  the 
out-of-school  life,  which  make  improvement  difficult 
or  easy.  Thus  the  parable  of  the  sower  shows  the 
same  seed  growing  into  very  different  harvests  ac- 
cording to  the  differences  in  the  soil.  But  a  part  of 
the  reason  why  some  children  are  unhelped  by  the 
moral  discipline  of  the  school  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  discipline  repels  rather  than  attracts 
them.  They  hate  it,  and  react  from  it.  They  re- 
gard the  school,  as  in  many  instances  children  of  a 
previous  generation  regarded  the  severity  of  their 


196  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

homes,  as  a  bondage  from  which  to  escape.  The 
fact  that  the  school  is  intended  for  their  good  preju- 
dices them  against  it;  it  is  associated  with  medicine, 
restriction,  and  punishment  which  are  also  intended 
for  their  good.  Like  the  man  in  the  psalm,  they 
hate  to  be  reformed.  They  are  of  the  mind  of  San- 
ballat,  the  Horonite,  and  Tobiah,  the  Ammonite, 
who,  when  they  heard  that  there  was  come  a  man  to 
seek  the  welfare  of  the  children  of  Israel,  were 
"  grieved  exceedingly." 

On  the  other  hand,  children  commonly  begin  to  go 
to  school  with  great  expectations.  They  are  de- 
lighted with  the  new  experience.  One  of  the  many 
problems  of  education  is  to  discover  how  to  maintain 
this  initial  interest.  It  is  plain  that  something  is  the 
matter.  Some  misreading  of  the  nature  of  youth 
changes  this  palace  into  a  prison.  The  most  serious 
aspect  of  this  common  failure  of  the  school  is  that 
it  vitiates  the  moral  atmosphere.  It  dulls  or  de- 
stroys that  receptivity  on  which  the  moral  value  of 
the  school  depends.  The  lessons  of  the  books  are 
learned,  because  this  learning  can  be  made  a  matter 
of  inevitable  obligation;  but  the  lesson  of  the  school 
itself  is  lost  in  the  child's  resentment  at  the  school's 
existence. 

There  is  a  possible  solution  of  at  least  a  part  of 
this  difficulty  in  the  new  liberty  which  the  Montessori 
method  would  introduce  into  education.  The  peri- 
ods of  enforced  quiet  may  be  shortened,  and  more 
opportunity  presented  for  that  activity  of  body  which 


THE  SCHOOL  197 

is  instinctive  in  the  growing  child.  Then,  too,  the 
processes  of  instruction  may  be  made  more  interest- 
ing by  relating  them  more  evidently  to  the  conditions 
of  actual  life.  Thus  geography  may  begin  with  the 
facts  which  are  in  plain  sight,  the  local  river,  or  hill, 
or  plain,  and  extend  gradually  into  the  distance. 
History  may  be  at  first  concerned  with  the  annals  of 
the  town,  the  district,  the  state,  and  so  on  back  to 
Greece  and  Rome,  to  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile. 
Local  geology,  local  botany,  the  biology  of  the  fields, 
the  chemistry  of  the  kitchen  appeal  to  the  natural 
curiosity  of  youth.  In  these  directions  the  school  is 
making  education  interesting,  and  is  at  the  same  time 
developing  children  into  intelligent  citizens.  One 
reason  why  many  children  quickly  lose  interest  in  the 
school  is  because  they  do  not  understand  what  it  is 
all  about.  They  do  not  see  the  good  of  it.  There 
is  no  plain  relation  in  their  minds  between  their  les- 
sons and  their  lives.  The  school  misses  that  point 
of  contact  which  is  the  initial  necessity  in  all  effective 
instruction.  This  contact  is  effected  by  the  more 
definite  moralising  of  education;  that  is,  by  keeping 
the  connection  clear  between  the  school's  work  and 
the  desired  result  —  an  intelligent,  competent,  de- 
pendable, and  useful  citizen.  For  example,  a  report 
on  the  methods  of  moral  instruction  in  Germany 
finds  "  the  love  of  home,  city,  and  country  earnestly 
inculcated  "  in  the  lessons  in  geography.  "  A  sense 
of  natural  beauty,  of  admiration  for  great  and  good 
citizens,  of  civic  duty  and  respect  for  law  is  culti- 


198  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

vated.  The  duty  of  the  city  to  provide  schools, 
water  and  light,  good  roads,  police,  etc.,  is  explained. 
Small  social  duties  are  pointed  out:  *  If  you  pick 
up  something  in  the  street,  what  must  you  do  with 
it?'  *  If  you  see  an  accident,  to  whom  must  you 
tell  it?'  *  To  whom  do  the  public  buildings  and 
gardens  belong?  '  and  the  duty  following  on  owner- 
ship is  made  clear.  The  names  and  services  of 
great  statesmen,  writers,  and  philanthropists,  born 
in  their  city,  are  familiar  to  children  of  eight  and 
ten." 

Such  instruction,  however,  is  difficult  because  it  is 
not  provided  for  to  any  great  extent  in  text-books. 
The  materials  are  for  the  most  part  accessible 
enough,  but  they  are  not  arranged  for  the  teacher's 
use  in  lessons.  The  moralising  of  education  by 
making  use  of  local  facts  and  conditions  for  the  train- 
ing of  children  to  live  their  immediate  lives  depends 
accordingly  upon  the  teacher.  The  moral  atmos- 
phere of  the  school,  like  its  physical  atmosphere,  is 
determined  by  the  teacher.  It  is  the  teacher  who 
opens  the  windows,  or  keeps  them  closed.  And  this 
applies  to  all  kinds  of  windows  through  which  chil- 
dren look  out  upon  the  world  in  which  they  live.  It 
is  in  the  personality  of  the  teacher,  as  much,  indeed, 
as  in  the  method,  that  the  problems  of  interest  and 
the  value  of  education  are  to  be  worked  out. 

The  teacher  whose  ideals  consist  in  a  quiet  school- 
room and  a  successful  examination  at  the  end  of  the 
term  may  achieve  certain  results,  but  at  the  same 


THE  SCHOOL  199 

time  may  make  school  children  hate  the  school,  and 
thus  may  bring  to  naught  all  the  moral  opportunities. 
Boys  and  girls  may  go  out  from  such  a  school  know- 
ing how  to  read  and  write  and  cipher,  but  ignorant 
of  the  value  of  the  virtues,  and  resenting  authority. 
They  may  be  sent  out  into  the  community  equipped 
to  do  evil  intelligently,  and  inclined  to  do  it.  The 
very  excellence  of  the  intellectualised  instruction 
may  make  the  school  a  menace  to  the  state. 

It  is  only  by  moralising  instruction  that  it  is  made 
either  interesting  or  effective.  It  commands  the  at- 
tention and  the  respect  of  youth  by  being  evidently 
practical,  worth  while,  and  applicable  to  life.  The 
teacher's  true  ideal  is  a  good  citizen.  The  teacher's 
moral  problem  is  to  make  the  school  life  yield  that 
fine  result.  Everything  is  to  be  made  to  bend  that 
way.  The  conduct  of  the  school,  the  care  of  the 
fabric,  the  pictures  on  the  walls,  the  songs  which  are 
sung  and  learned  by  heart,  the  lessons  which  are 
taught,  are  all  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  flag  which 
floats  over  the  school  roof.  But  the  first  essential 
to  that  harmony  is  the  spirit  of  the  teacher. 

The  presence  of  the  teacher  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
fluential moral  and  spiritual  facts  about  the  school. 
For  the  most  valuable  contribution  which  a  good 
school  can  make  to  the  equipment  of  a  growing  citi- 
zen is  a  point  of  view,  a  way  of  looking  at  things,  a 
sense  of  values.  And  this,  for  good  or  ill,  the 
teacher  gives.  It  all  depends  upon  the  teacher's  per- 
sonality.    The  details  of  most  of  the  lessons  are 


200  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

eventually  forgotten,  but  the  impression  of  the 
teacher  remains.  The  sincerity,  the  fairness,  the 
sympathy,  the  kindness,  the  patience,  the  courtesy  of 
the  teacher,  or  the  lack  of  those  qualities  are  the  am- 
bassadors of  moral  and  spiritual  influence.  They 
prepare  the  way,  or  block  it,  for  acceptance  of  the 
teacher's  ideals  of  life.  What  is  taught  is  learned, 
or  not,  according  as  these  virtues  rule  in  the  teacher's 
life.  The  teacher  should  be  their  incarnation  or  em- 
bodiment. To  the  extent  that  they  prevail  they 
make  the  school  liked  or  disliked;  they  make  it  mor- 
ally effective  or  ineffective.  Without  them,  the 
teacher  may  give  the  most  admirable  instruction  in 
all  the  aspects  of  the  moral  and  religious  life,  and 
achieve  meagre  results.  With  them,  the  instruction 
may  be  not  so  admirable  and  yet  be  crowned  with 
splendid  moral  accomplishment.  The  personality 
and  character  of  the  teacher  are  the  constant  text- 
book of  the  school.  The  religious  teacher,  conscious 
of  God,  devoted  to  the  highest  ideals,  looking  toward 
the  life  unseen  and  immortal,  cannot  help  but  make 
the  school  a  moral  and  religious  influence.  Morality 
will  be  infused  with  religion,  as  flowers  are  filled 
with  fragrance. 

In  our  efforts  to  train  children  in  the  virtues  of 
school  life  the  following  graded  scheme  is  com- 
mended. This  scheme  deals  with  the  social  virtues 
of  the  school.  The  intellectual  virtues  have  been 
described  and  graded  in  Chapter  VII. 


THE  SCHOOL  201 


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202  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 


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THE  SCHOOL  203 

In  her  endeavours  to  establish  the  pupil  in  the 
virtues  of  school  life  the  teacher  will  find  no  little 
embarrassment  because  of  the  lack  of  story-material. 
As  stated  in  the  previous  chapter,  story-literature 
does  not  abound  in  good  stories  of  school  life.  This 
is  somewhat  surprising  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
school  with  its  social  life  constitutes  such  a  large  part 
of  the  average  child's  world.  His  social  interac- 
tions here,  are,  in  some  respects,  more  varied  than 
in  the  family.  His  world  of  play  is  larger  here 
than  at  home  or  elsewhere.  The  idealisation  of 
these  school  experiences  certainly  constitutes  a  rich 
and  inviting  field  for  the  story-writer.  There  is 
sufficient  and  excellent  material  for  the  imagination, 
and  its  wholesome  creations  would  prove  a  benedic- 
tion to  childhood.  The  successful  writer  of  school 
stories  would  find  a  host  of  appreciative  readers,  and, 
in  so  far  as  such  stories  embodied  a  moral,  they 
would  prove  potent  means  for  the  moralisation  of 
school  life. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  stones  and  selections 
which  may  be  used  in  connection  with  the  school  vir- 
tues. In  dealing  with  the  social  virtues  of  the 
school  the  teacher  might  use  also  the  stories  men- 
tioned at  the  close  of  the  next  chapter. 

c<  A  Song  of  School,"  "  Going  to  School,"  "  Pictures  of 
School  Children,"  "  Ben  Makes  a  Flag,"  and  "  The  Fun  of 
Not  Going  to  School,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Green  Pastures. 

"  A  Boy  Who  Wanted  to  Learn,"  "  How  Miller  Was 
Cured,"  "  Dan's  Dream,"  "  The  Last  Lesson  in  French,"  and 


2o4  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

"  Holmes's  School   Days,"  from   The   Way   of  the  Rivers. 

u  Lincoln's  Boyhood  and  School  Days,"  "  The  William 
Henry  Letters,"  "A  Canadian  School  Tale,"  and  "The 
Prize,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Hills. 

"  Coals  of  Fire,"  "  William  Henry's  Letter  to  His  Grand- 
mother," and  "  Arthur's  First  Night  at  Rugby,"  from  The 
Way  of  the  Mountains. 

"  In  School  Days,"  "  Dick's  Hero,"  and  "  The  School- 
master's Story,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Stars. 

"  The  Schoolmaster  is  Abroad,"  from  The  Way  of  the 
King's  Palace. 

"Wellington  and  the  Plow  Boy,"  "  Billy,  Betty,  and 
Ben  and  the  Circus,"  "  The  Seven  Ways  of  the  Woods," 
"  To  a  Child,"  "  A  Persian  Lad,"  "  The  Unseen  Playmate," 
"Partners,"  and  "The  Fox  and  the  Stork,"  from  The 
Golden  Ladder  Book. 

"  The  Jackal  and  the  Spring,"  "  Red  Stars  and  Black," 
"The  School  Picnic,"  "Forgive  and  Forget,"  and  "A 
Quarrel  Among  Quails,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  Tarlton,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"  Billy's  Football  Team,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"  One  Good  Turn  Deserves  Another,"  and  "  Billy's  Prize 
Essay,"  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

11  The  Teacher's  Vocation  "  and  "  Ingratitude,"  from  The 
Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  The  Bay  Colt  Learns  to  Mind,"  from  Among  the  Barn- 
yard People.  "  The  Naughty  Comet,"  from  Toto's  Merry 
Winter,  by  Laura  E.  Richards.  "  The  Christmas  Monks," 
from  Story  Land.  "  The  New  Teacher,"  by  Edward  Eg- 
gleston,  in  Howe's  Fourth  Reader.  "  Mrs.  Walker's  Betsy," 
from  Whittier's  Child  Life  in  Prose.  "  The  Loyal  Ele- 
phant," from  Marie  L.  Shedlock's  Collection  of  Eastern 
Stories  and  Legends. 


THE  SCHOOL  205 

"  My  Brother's  Schoolmistress,"  by  Edmondo  de  Amicis, 
from  Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know.  "  Exit  Tyrannus," 
from  Kenneth  Grahame's  Golden  Age.  "  The  Youth  of  the 
Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius,"  by  F.  W.  Farrar. 


To  do  righteousness  and  justice 

Is  more  acceptable  to  the  Lord  than  sacrifice. 

—  Proverbs  xxi,  3. 

Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy  neighbor. 

—  Exodus  xx,   16. 

Ye  shall  not  steal;  neither  shall  ye  deal  falsely,  nor  lie  one 
to  another. 

—  Leviticus  xix,   11. 

Let  not  kindness   and  truth  forsake  thee:  .  .  . 
Write  them  upon  the  tablet  of  thy  heart. 

—  Proverbs  iii,  3. 

Be  tenderly  affectioned  one  to  another;   in  honor  preferring 
one   another. 

—  Romans  xii,    10. 

Do  justice  to  the  afflicted  and  destitute. 
Rescue  the  poor  and  needy. 

—  Psalm  lxxxii,  3-4. 

Bear  ye  one   another's   burdens,   and   so  fulfil   the    law   of 
Christ. 

—  Galatians  vi,  2. 

By  the  blessing  of  the  upright  the  city  is  exalted; 
But  it  is  overthrown  by  the  mouth  of  the  wicked. 

—  Proverbs  xi,  11. 

Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends. 

—  John  xv,    13. 

Suffer  hardship  with  me,  as  a  good  soldier  of  Christ  Jesus. 

—  //  Timothy  ii,  3. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  —  THE   COMMUNITY 

The  child  is  also  a  member  of  a  larger  social  cir- 
cle than  is  represented  by  the  family  and  the  school. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  community.  As  he  grows 
older  he  becomes  more  and  more  related  to  this 
larger  society,  and  his  sphere  of  duty  is  enlarged. 
In  an  important  sense  the  relations  that  he  sustains 
to  its  members  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  he 
sustains  to  the  members  of  the  family,  and  to  the 
members  of  the  school,  and  the  moral  obligations 
that  grow  out  of  these  relations  are  also  practically 
the  same.  Hence  the  virtues  and  vices  involved  in 
his  moral  development  in  his  relations  to  the  family 
and  school  are  those  which  call  for  consideration  in 
his  relation  to  the  community.  This  being  the  case, 
we  need  not  dwell  long  upon  them,  as  they  have  al- 
ready been  considered  somewhat  at  length  in  both  of 
the  chapters  relating  to  the  family  and  the  school. 

It  will  doubtless  be  recalled  that  the  social  virtues 
treated  there  were  obedience,  justice,  truthfulness, 
honesty,  kindness,  courtesy,  generosity,  love,  loyalty, 
etc.  It  will  be  seen  on  a  little  reflection  that  these 
are  the  virtues  that  obtain  also  in  the  larger  society 
called  the  community,  and  that  the  reasons  for  their 

207 


208  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

practice  are  the  same.  If,  for  example,  justice  is 
obligatory  upon  the  child  in  the  family,  and  in  the 
school,  it  is  likewise  obligatory  for  him  to  regard  the 
rights  of  others  in  his  relations  to  the  community. 
Indeed,  the  practice  of  this  virtue  becomes  all  the 
more  imperative  because  of  the  larger  interests  at 
stake,  and  the  child  will  doubtless  find  an  infringe- 
ment on  the  rights  of  others  in  the  community 
not  treated  with  the  same  consideration  or  leniency 
that  it  receives  sometimes  in  the  family  and  the 
school.  The  same  may  be  said  of  honesty.  Its  im- 
portance for  society  is  apparent  at  once.  The  com- 
munity could  not  exist  without  it,  and  the  child  will 
soon  find  that  here,  too,  the  community  is  more  exact- 
ing than  the  family  and  the  school.  Men  and  wo- 
men jealously  guard  their  own  interests,  and  dis- 
honesty is  treated  with  severity.  Truthfulness,  too, 
is  just  as  necessary  in  the  community  as  in  the  family 
and  the  school,  and  it  is  enforced  by  the  same 
sanctions.  Society  can  no  more  exist  on  the  basis  of 
a  lie  than  the  family  or  the  school  can.  Justice,  hon- 
esty, and  truthfulness  make  for  the  highest  well-be- 
ing of  society,  and,  therefore,  for  the  individual;  for, 
in  the  final  analysis,  the  real  good  of  the  individual 
is  coincident  with  the  good  of  society. 

While  the  same  remarks  apply  to  kindness,  the 
parent  and  teacher  may  find  it  necessary  to  emphasise 
this  virtue  in  the  pupil's  relation  to  society  a  little 
more  than  in  his  relation  to  the  family  and  to  the 
school.     Members  of  the  community  are  not  as  close 


THE  COMMUNITY  209 

to  the  child  as  are  members  of  the  school.  Hence, 
the  child  does  not  feel  the  force  of  the  moral  obliga- 
tion as  it  relates  to  kindness  quite  as  imperatively  as 
he  does  in  its  relation  to  those  with  whom  he  is  more 
immediately  associated.  This  is  true,  indeed,  with 
reference  to  all  of  the  social  virtues  whose  opposites 
are  not  punished  with  severe  rebuke  or  legal  punish- 
ment, as  is,  for  example,  dishonesty.  Hence  it 
would  be  well  for  the  parent  and  teacher  to  em- 
phasise the  moral  obligation  of  kindness  a  little 
more  when  dealing  with  the  child's  relation  to  the 
community.  He  ought  to  be  taught  to  show  kindness 
to,  and  sympathy  for,  those  in  pain  or  illness,  in  sor- 
row or  misfortune.  There  is  so  much  in  every  com- 
munity that  calls  for  sympathy  and  kindness  that  the 
lesson  can  be  very  forcibly  brought  home  to  every 
pupil. 

So  far  as  courtesy  is  concerned,  it  may  be  said  that 
it  is  easier  to  develop  the  spirit  of  courtesy  and  good 
manners  in  the  child  in  his  relations  to  the  family  and 
the  school  than  in  his  relations  to  society,  for  rea- 
sons similar  to  those  mentioned  when  speaking  of 
kindness.  The  moral  imperative  seems  less  binding, 
because  of  the  apparent  remoteness  of  the  community 
relation,  and  this  community  relation  seems  still 
more  remote,  and  the  moral  obligation  less  urgent, 
when  it  concerns  those  whom  the  child,  for  some  rea- 
son or  other,  regards  as  his  inferiors  —  as  servants, 
the  poor,  strangers,  and  foreigners.  The  child 
should  be  taught  the  lesson  that  courtesy,  as  a  moral 


210  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

obligation,  is  universally  binding;  that  it  is  a  duty  we 
owe  to  all  persons  —  to  the  poor,  the  aged,  the  in- 
firm, servants,  guests,  strangers,  citizens  of  other 
lands,  etc.  It  is  for  the  child's  own  interest,  as  well 
as  for  the  interests  of  society,  that  he  should  develop 
the  spirit  of  courtesy  and  that  he  should  manifest 
this  spirit  in  becoming  manners.  Now  the  child  may 
have  the  spirit  of  courtesy  and  not  know  how  to  ex- 
press it.  Therefore,  he  should  be  taught  those 
forms  of  conduct  which  obtain  among  cultivated  peo- 
ple. Society  is  bound  together  by  convention  and 
custom,  and  the  child  should  know  what  these  are: 
in  his  interactions  with  society  he  should  know  what 
is  the  proper  thing  to  do.  This  should  be  a  part  of 
his  home  and  school  training.  He  will  learn,  of 
course,  by  practice  what  many  of  these  formalities 
are.  But  it  is  desirable  also  that  to  the  actual  prac- 
tice in  the  social  code  of  the  home  and  schoolroom 
should  be  added  that  indirect  training  which  is  given 
in  an  elementary  course  in  morals  and  religion. 

In  thus  training  the  pupil  we  have  to  contend  with 
certain  faults  and  vices,  and  the  faults,  if  not  cor- 
rected, often  develop  into  vices.  They  are  bashful- 
ness,  which  is  often  sheepish  in  character;  and  boor- 
ishness,  which  manifests  itself  in  either  ignorant  or 
wilful  indifference  to  the  social  conventions  or  rules. 
When  such  boorishness  is  wilful,  it,  of  course, 
amounts  to  disrespect  and  contempt. 

Much  of  the  boy's  or  girl's  bashfulness  is  due  to 
ignorance  of  what  is  required  in  good  manners. 


THE  COMMUNITY  211 

Knowledge  of,  and  practice  in,  the  social  courtesies 
will  therefore  help  largely  to  cure  such  bashfulness. 
Boorishness  is  often  due  to  an  excess  of  animalism. 
Was  it  not  Plato  who  said  the  boy  is  the  worst  of 
all  wild  animals?  Such  animalism  can  be  gradually 
softened  by  daily  practice  in  good  manners  in  the 
home  and  school.  Where  boorishness  is  wilful  it 
should  be  dealt  with  uncompromisingly,  as  it  is  im- 
moral in  character,  showing,  as  it  does,  disrespect 
and  contempt  for  others,  and  for  that  which  society 
regards  as  essential  to  its  highest  well-being,  and 
which  is  certainly  essential  to  the  well-being  of  the 
home  and  school. 

One  word  more  may  be  added.  Although  there 
is  little  danger  of  excessive  ceremonialism  on  the  part 
of  children,  there  is,  at  least,  some  danger  of  exces- 
sive formalism  in  the  sense  that  these  courtesies  may 
be  viewed  too  much  from  the  standpoint  of  external- 
ism,  and  thus  their  real  spirit  may  be  lost.  The  child 
should  be  gradually  led  to  apprehend  them,  not  from 
a  mere  social  and  aesthetic  but  also  from  a  moral 
standpoint.  He  should  be  taught  to  apprehend  them 
as  expressions  of  good  will  —  of  respect,  of  defer- 
ence, of  proper  regard. 

Generosity  to  those  outside  of  the  family  and 
school  circles  does  not  appeal  to  the  child  quite  as 
strongly  as  when  related  to  those  inside.  Children, 
of  course,  often  take  a  delight  in  participating  in 
charity  when  the  sacrifice  involved  is  really  borne  by 
the  parent  or  by  others.     But  when  it  calls  for  an 


212  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

actual  sacrifice  on  their  part,  the  generous  or  charit- 
able spirit  is  not  so  ardent.  Still  their  natural  al- 
truism is  present  to  work  upon,  and  from  it  the 
teacher  can  develop  the  virtue  of  generosity.  This 
is  an  age  of  charitable  giving,  and  the  atmosphere 
constitutes  a  favorable  environment  for  the  culti- 
vation of  this  virtue.  There  is  such  a  variety  of 
needs  on  the  part  of  many  that  the  child's  sympa- 
thies can  be  enlisted,  and  this  will  often  result 
in  action.  Generosity  to  the  poor,  to  the  unfortun- 
ate, and  to  the  erring  is  a  virtue  that  calls  strongly 
for  cultivation  in  a  world  of  inequalities,  and  it  will 
be  worth  all  of  the  effort  we  put  forth  to  establish 
the  child  in  this  splendid  virtue.  Literature  and  his- 
tory abound  in  noble  examples  of  generosity,  and  we 
will  often  find  that  the  child  will  sympathetically  re- 
spond to  them.  He  will  soon  be  led  to  see  that  gen- 
erosity is  better  than  selfishness;  that  it  not  only  aids 
the  helpless  and  needy,  but  also  proves  a  blessing  to 
society  and  to  the  beneficent  person  himself.  The 
aesthetic  side  of  the  virtue  will  appeal  to  him  also. 
There  is  a  beauty  in  acts  of  charity  that  arrests  our 
attention  and  calls  forth  our  admiration  for  the 
charitable  person.  There  is  also  an  ugliness  in  the 
penuriousness,  the  stingy  selfishness,  of  him  who  with- 
holds a  helping  hand. 

All  these  virtues  meet  in  that  quality  of  the  good 
citizen  which  is  called  public  spirit.  This  implies  a 
consideration  on  his  part,  not  only  for  his  own  family 
and  neighbourhood,  but  for  the  whole  community. 


THE  COMMUNITY  213 

Indeed,  public  spirit  at  its  best  makes  one  a  citizen 
of  the  world.  It  is  a  cosmopolitan  interest,  which 
concerns  itself  with  international  relationships,  with 
the  commerce  of  states,  and  the  products  of  coun- 
tries, with  governments,  and  movements  tending  to 
make  them  more  free  and  more  beneficial  to  the  peo- 
ple, with  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  with  all  ques- 
tions of  the  day. 

In  the  schools  children  may  be  given  this  spirit  in 
their  studies  of  geography  and  of  history.  The  wise 
teacher  connects  these  studies,  so  far  as  possible,  with 
the  news  which  is  contained  in  the  daily  paper,  and 
conducts  a  current  events  class  in  which  the  geo- 
graphy and  history  of  the  books  are  vitally  associated 
with  the  concerns  of  the  present  moment.  If  there 
is  a  war  in  the  Balkan  States,  the  lay  of  the  land  is  a 
matter  of  interest  to  all  alert  minds.  If  Constanti- 
nople is  in  peril,  the  teacher  will  read  to  the  class  in 
history  that  famous  passage  in  Gibbon  which 
describes  its  capture  by  the  Turks,  in  1453:  "  At 
daybreak,  without  the  customary  signal  of  the  mov- 
ing gun,  the  Turks  assaulted  the  city  by  land  and  sea ; 
and  the  similitude  of  a  twined  or  twisted  thread  has 
been  applied  to  the  closeness  and  continuity  of  their 
line  of  attack."  The  words  take  on  a  new  and  dra- 
matic interest  from  the  conditions  of  the  immediate 
present. 

The  moral  value  of  such  association  of  the  old  time 
with  the  new,  and  of  events  with  maps,  is  found  in 
the  development  of  a  habit  of  intelligent  and  sympa- 


214  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

thetic  interest  in  the  world.  This,  of  itself,  elevates 
character.  It  is  of  especial  importance  in  somewhat 
isolated  places,  in  country  schools,  where  character  is 
attacked  by  monotony.  In  such  places  evil  is  often 
done  because  there  is  nothing  of  interest  to  occupy 
the  mind. 

These  large  interests  will  find  local  application. 
The  good  home  or  school  is  a  Good  Government 
Club,  or  a  Village  Improvement  Society,  within  the 
limits  of  its  own  proper  abilities.  When  a  child  un- 
derstands his  relation  to  the  cleanness  of  the  public 
streets,  he  has  learned  the  alphabet  of  good  citizen- 
ship. The  untaught  child  who  throws  paper  about 
the  schoolyard  is  taking  daily  lessons  in  that  civic  in- 
difference which  is  at  the  heart  of  most  of  our  politi- 
cal distresses.  The  legend  Who  Will  Pick  It  Up? 
may  usefully  be  exhibited  prominently  in  the  hall  of 
every  school.  The  answer  to  it  is  one  of  the  first 
principles  of  social  responsibility.  If  we  tear  a  piece 
of  paper  into  bits,  and  scatter  the  bits  along  the  way, 
one  of  two  results  must  follow:  either  the  torn 
papers  lie  there,  disfiguring  the  place,  or  else  some- 
body must  pick  them  up. 

It  is  in  the  direction  of  good  morals  that  children 
be  set  to  do  their  part  in  the  work  of  keeping  the 
town  clean.  The  streets  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
school  may  be  made  an  exercise-ground  for  clubs  of 
boys  and  girls,  who  have  been  instructed  in  the  vir- 
tue of  public  spirit  and  are  ready  to  practise  it.     This 


THE  COMMUNITY  215 

is  what  Ruskin  did  at  Oxford  when  he  sent  his  pupils 
out  to  mend  a  road.  The  fact  that  one  of  these  ama- 
teur road  menders  was  Arnold  Toynbee,  out  of 
whose  impulse  came  the  whole  mission  of  social  set- 
tlements, shows  that  such  lessons  may  have  conse- 
quences which  exceed  all  expectation. 

Children  may  profitably  be  made  acquainted  with 
the  city.  This  will  be  for  the  sake  of  appreciation 
rather  than  of  criticism.  Parents  and  teachers  will 
find  an  immediate  opposition  among  citizens  to  any 
attack  upon  things  as  they  are.  It  may  be  well  that 
such  an  attack  ought  to  be  made,  but  not  by  chil- 
dren. Even  if  they  are  enlisted  in  the  cleaning  of 
the  streets,  it  need  not  be  suggested  to  them  that  the 
city  council  ought  to  see  to  that.  The  right  begin- 
nings of  civic  betterment,  so  far  as  children  are  con- 
cerned, are  positive  rather  than  negative.  Parents 
and  teachers  should  acquaint  their  children  with  all 
the  good  things  in  the  town.  They  should  be  in- 
formed in  regard  to  various  public  institutions,  what 
they  are  and  how  they  work,  and  the  information 
should  be  illustrated  by  visits  to  such  places.  They 
will  be  taken  in  little  groups,  by  parents  or  teachers, 
to  fire  engine  houses,  hospitals,  public  libraries,  art 
galleries,  playgrounds,  open-air  schools,  homes  for 
aged  people.  They  should  see  the  Poor  Commis- 
sioners and  the  Associated  Charities  in  operation. 
They  should  visit  notable  factories  in  which  the 
characteristic  products  of  the  town  are  made.     They 


216  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

should  see  the  inside  of  the  town  hall,  meet  the 
mayor,  and  be  shown  the  various  departments  of  ad- 
ministration. 

Such  instruction  and  experience  as  this  creates  and 
directs  public  spirit.  The  children  begin  to  think  of 
the  city  as  a  beneficent  institution,  carried  on  by  men 
chosen  and  employed  by  the  citizens  to  perform  so- 
cial duties,  to  maintain  order,  clean  the  streets,  carry 
out  improvements,  and  provide  generally  for  the 
well-being  of  the  place.  They  will  acquire  the  habit 
of  regarding  public  officers  somewhat  as  a  corpora- 
tion regards  its  paid  officials,  in  the  light  of  the  ser- 
vices which  they  render  to  the  community.  They 
will  perceive  that  public  positions  are  not  prizes  to 
be  awarded  to  men  for  diligent  political  work,  but  are 
to  be  given,  as  other  responsible  positions  are  given, 
to  the  men  who  are  best  equipped  to  do  the  work. 
They  will  grow  up  into  citizens  who  will  demand  ex- 
pert efficiency  in  office,  and  will  consider  it  absurd  to 
choose  an  undertaker  for  commissioner  of  streets  be- 
cause he  was  active  at  the  polls. 

The  elemental  need  is  a  true  and  substantial  in- 
terest in  the  town,  the  state,  and  the  nation.  Out  of 
that  all  good  things  may  be  expected.  For  the  ini- 
tial necessity,  if  we  are  to  make  our  city  answer  to 
our  ideals,  is  to  take  care  that  it  is  inhabited  by  good 
citizens,  beginning  with  ourselves. 

Here,  too,  in  addition  to  the  methods  already  men- 
tioned, the  story  method  may  prove  helpful  in  train- 
ing the  child  for  good  citizenship.     There  are  so 


THE  COMMUNITY  217 

many  fine  examples  of  genuine  public  spirit  which 
history  and  our  present  times  afford  that  the  story 
of  those  who  have  laboured  for  civic  betterment  can- 
not fail  to  be  morally  helpful  to  the  child.  To  pre- 
sent such  history  and  biography  to  the  child  will  not 
fail  to  result  in  a  wholesome  mental  and  moral  re- 
action. 

One  of  the  most  notable  features  of  Christianity  is 
its  social  attitude.  The  law  of  Christian  love  is 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself,"  and  this 
comprehends  what  in  Ethics  is  called  the  law  of  so- 
cial interaction.  It  comprehends  every  social  duty. 
Jesus'  teaching  and  practice  in  this  respect  are  un- 
compromising. Love  of  neighbour  is  the  very  core 
of  his  teaching  and  example.  The  major  portion  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  devoted  to  expounding 
man's  duty  to  his  neighbour,  and  so  are  many  of  the 
parables;  and  all  of  these  duties  are  adaptations  or 
applications  of  the  law  of  love. 

The  New  Testament  writers  show  that  charity  was 
a  cardinal  virtue  of  the  early  Church,  and  it  has 
signalised  the  work  of  the  Christian  Church  ever 
since.  Indeed,  as  Professor  Peabody  says,  "  To 
many  a  modern  mind  which  dismisses  the  claims  of 
Christianity  to  dogmatic  truth,  its  maintenance  is 
abundantly  justified  as  an  instrument  of  human  pity 
and  brotherhood."  1 

The  following'  graded  scheme  will  assist  in 
training  children  in  the  virtues  relating  to  the  com- 
munity. 

1  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  New  York,  1901,  p.  232. 


218 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 


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220  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

If  there  be  a  dearth  of  stories  relating  to  school 
life  this  is  not  the  case  with  stories  illustrating  the 
virtues  of  community  life.  Here  we  find  a  multi- 
tude of  riches,  and  the  parent  and  teacher  can  make 
a  wise  selection  from  good  literature.  Such  stories 
meet  the  demands  both  of  literary  and  moral  in- 
struction. There  is  so  much  good  sense  in  the  words 
of  President  G.  Stanley  Hall  with  reference  to  litera- 
ture embodying  the  virtues  that  they  may  be  heartily 
commended  to  the  teacher.  He  says :  "  I  would 
have  the  contents  of  every  reader  in  the  grades  and 
all  the  English  literature  studied  in  the  high  school 
chosen  primarily  with  reference  to  moral  values, 
and,  ignoring  here  the  dangerous  principle  of  art  for 
art's  sake,  place  all  stylistic  qualities  second  to  ethical 
values."  *  In  the  upper  grades,  and  in  the  high 
school,  biographies  should  be  read.  Many  short 
biographies  of  genuine  heroes  and  heroines  are  now 
available.  Indeed,  many  such  "  lives  "  may  now  be 
studied  in  a  single  volume.  The  teacher  and  parent 
will  find  in  the  list  given  below  a  number  of  biograph- 
ical sketches  of  noble  men  and  women.  A  study 
of  them  will  prove  a  moral  inspiration  to  the  pupil. 
Example  being  more  powerful  than  precept  these 
exemplars  of  some  of  the  finest  social  virtues  will 
undoubtedly  appeal  strongly  to  the  youthful  mind. 

In  teaching  the  virtues  of  the  community  life  the 
following  list  of  stories  and  selections  may  be  used: 

1  Hall,  Educational  Problems,  New  York,  1911,  Vol.  I,  p.  271. 


THE  COMMUNITY  221 

"  A  Kind  Girl  "  and  "  Who  Owns  the  City?  "  from  The 
Way  of  the  Green  Pastures. 

"  David  and  Jonathan,"  "  The  Story  of  Moses,"  King 
David's  Cup  of  Water,"  "  The  William  Henry  Letters," 
"Maria  Millis,"  and  "How  the  Children  Were  Fed," 
from  The  Way  of  the  Rivers. 

"  Abigail,  the  Peace  Maker,"  "  How  Scarlet  Fever  Came 
to  One  Home,"  "With  the  Street  Cleaner,"  "The  Story 
of  Naaman,"  "Bishop  Hatto,"  "The  Old  Scrooge," 
"  Christmas  at  Bob  Cratchit's,"  and  "  The  New  Scrooge," 
from  The  Way  of  the  Hills. 

"The  Good  Samaritan,"  "The  Best  that  I  Can," 
"  Peter's  Denial,"  "  A  Psalm  of  Life,"  "  Little  Gavroche," 
"  The  Legend  of  St.  Christopher,"  "  St.  Francis,"  "  Love 
Conquers,"  "  Gregory  and  the  Slaves,"  "  Good  King 
Wenceslas,"  and  "  The  Fair  White  City,"  from  The  Way 
of  the  Mountains. 

"John  the  Goldenmouth,"  "Give,"  "The  Last  Fight 
in  the  Colosseum,"  "  Erick's  Grave,"  "  Kindly  Hearts  on 
Unkindly  Shores,"  "  Tired  of  Play,"  "  Guy  the  Crusader," 
"  A  War  Song  of  the  Future,"  "  You  and  I,"  "  The  Hero 
of  Burmah,"  "Who  Lives  Long?"  "  Marcus  Whitman  the 
Hero,"  and  "  Story  of  a  Hero,"  from  The  Way  of  the 
Stars. 

"  If  You  Were  Toiling  up  a  Weary  Hill,"  "  Words  of 
Wisdom,"  "  Truth  and  Falsehood,"  "  Romola's  Waking," 
"  The  Good  Samaritan,"  "  The  Hero  of  Khartum,"  "  Lad- 
ders to  Heaven,"  "The  Hero-Priest,"  "The  Red  Cross 
Evangel  of  Mercy,"  "  The  Greatest  Thing  in  the  World," 
"A  Friend  of  the  Indians,"  "The  Real  Good,"  "St. 
Francis  and  the  Soldan,"  and  "  John  Littlejohn,"  from  The 
Way  of  the  King's  Gardens. 

"  The  Hero  of  Eyam,"  "  The  School  of  Life,"  "  Yus- 
souf,"  "  Jenny  Lind,  the  Swedish  Nightingale,"  "  An  Un- 


222  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

expected  Reward,"  u  The  Lady  of  the  Lamp,"  and  "  The 
Widow's  Mites,"  from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Palace. 

"  The  Horse  and  the  Laden  Ass,"  "  The  Basket  Woman," 
"The  Shower  of  Gold,"  "Little  Ted,"  "The  World's 
Music,"  "  The  Boy  Who  Recommended  Himself,"  "  The 
Two  Friends,"  "  Deeds  of  Kindness,"  "  Dr.  Goldsmith's 
Medicine,"  "  Hans,  the  Shepherd  Boy,"  "  A  Thanksgiving 
Fable,"  and  "  The  Bell  of  Justice,"  from  The  Golden  Lad- 
der Book. 

"  The  Arrow  and  the  Song,"  "  How  the  King  Visited 
Robin  Hood,"  "  The  Cub's  Triumph,"  "  Mercury  and  the 
Woodman,"  "The  Old  Woman  and  the  Doctor,"  "The 
Discontented  Pendulum,"  "  The  Blind  Man  and  the  Lame 
Man,"  "The  Talkative  Tortoise,"  "The  Magic  Mask," 
"  Sara  Crewe,"  "  The  Half-chick,"  "  Jean  Valjean  and  the 
Good  Bishop,"  "  Why  Violets  Have  Golden  Hearts,"  "  St. 
George  and  the  Dragon,"  "  Companions  of  Differing  Hu- 
mors," and  "  The  Partners,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  An  Oriental  Story,"  "  Nobility,"  "  How  Morgan  Le 
Fay  Tried  to  Kill  King  Arthur,"  "  Tray  and  Tiger,"  "  The 
Red  Thread  of  Honor,"  "  The  Ladle  that  Fell  from  the 
Moon,"  "  The  Lucky  Coin,"  "  The  Two  Dealers,"  "  Little 
at  First  but  Great  at  Last,"  "  The  Snappy  Snapping  Turtle," 
"  The  Friends,"  "  The  Loving  Cup  Which  Was  Made  of 
Iron,"  "  The  Tongue  and  How  to  Use  It,"  "  It  is  Quite 
True,"  "  The  Fairy  Who  Judged  Her  Neighbors,"  "  Neigh- 
bor Mine,"  "  Can  and  Could,"  "  The  Planting  of  the  Apple 
Tree,"  "  Mignon,"  "  How  the  Stag  Was  Saved,"  "  Fidel- 
ity," "Orpheus  and  Eurydice,"  "The  Story  of  Peter 
Cooper,"  and  "  Casal  Novo,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"  The  Apostle  of  the  Lepers,"  "  Prince  Magna,"  "  The 
Sparrow,"  "King  Robert  of  Sicily,"  "  Jaffar,"  "The 
Emperor's  New  Clothes,"  "  The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin," 
"  The  Pigeons  and  the  Crow,"  "  For  a'  That,"  "  Of  the 
Slaying    of    the    Dragon,"    "  Santa    Filomena,"    "  Queen 


THE  COMMUNITY  223 

Louise,"  "Abou  Ben  Adhem,"  "  The  Great  Horseman," 
"  A  Man  Who  Loved  His  Fellowmen,"  "  The  House  by  the 
Side  of  the  Road,"  "The  Ambulance  Call  of  the  Sea," 
"The  True  Story  of  an  Old  Hawthorn  Tree,"  "The 
Daughter  of  the  Custodian,"  "  Geirald  the  Coward,"  "  Say 
Not,  the  Struggle  Naught  Availeth,"  "  The  Blind  Man  and 
the  Talking  Dog,"  "  The  Three  Bells,"  "  The  Story  of  the 
Chameleon,"  "  Whatever  the  Weather  May  be,"  "  Echo 
and  Narcissus,"  and  "  A  Great  Repentance  and  a  Great 
Forgiveness,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"  The  Tournament,"  "  The  Inchcape  Rock,"  "  A  Modest 
Wit,"  "  A  Noble  Woman,"  "  Florence  Nightingale,"  "  For- 
bearance," "  He  Who  Has  a  Thousand  Friends,"  "  The 
Risks  of  a  Fireman's  Life,"  "  A  Hero  of  the  Fishing  Fleet," 
11  One  of  the  Busiest  Women  in  New  York,"  "  The  Master- 
Player,"  "  Incident  of  the  French  Camp,"  and  "  Content," 
from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"  Prospice,"  "  Silas  Marner's  Eppie,"  "  Aspecta  Medusa," 
11  Sir  Artegall  and  the  Knight  Sanglier,"  °  Mercy,"  "  The 
Hog  Family/"  "  Friendship,"  "  A  Battle  of  Peace,"  "  The 
Man  with  the  Hoe,"  "  Herve  Riel,"  M  The  Battle  of  Water- 
loo," and  "  Captain  Scott,"  from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  The  Stolen  Corn,"  from  For  the  Children  s  Hour. 
"  The  Tiger  Gets  His  Deserts,"  "  The  Sunling,"  and  "  The 
Wolf  and  the  Cat,"  from  The  Talking  Beasts. 

11  Charley,  the  Story-teller,"  from  Whittier's  Child  Life 
in  Poetry.  "  The  Country  Where  the  Mice  Eat  Iron"  and 
11  The  Rogue  and  the  Simpleton,"  from  Eva  March  Tap- 
pan's  Folk  Stories  and  Fables.  "  The  Nose  Tree  "  and 
"  The  Story  of  Zirac,"  from  Tales  of  Laughter.  "  Father 
Bruin  in  the  Corner,"  from  Tales  from  the  Field.  "  The 
Poplar  Tree,"  from  Nature  Myths  and  Stories,  by  Flora  J. 
Cooke.  "  What  the  Toys  Do,"  by  Fred  E.  Weatherly,  from 
A  Book  of  Children  s  Verse.  "  How  the  Rhinoceros  Got 
His  Skin,"  from  Just  So  Stories.     "  Story  that  the  Swallow 


224  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Didn't  Tell,"  from  Among  the  Barnyard  People.  "  The 
Swiss  Clock's  Story,"  "  The  Samovar's  Story,"  and  "  The 
Austrian  Paper  Knife's  Story,"  from  Mrs.  Burton  Harrison's 
Bric-a-Brac  Stories.  Story  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  and 
Queen  Elizabeth. 

"  Singh  Rajah  and  the  Cunning  Little  Jackals,"  from 
Old  Deccan  Days.  "  The  Little  Thief,"  from  Horace  E. 
Scudder's  Book  of  Legends.  "  The  Old  Man's  Dog  Shiro," 
from  Fairy  Tales  from  Far  Japan,  by  Susan  Ballard. 
iEsop's  "The  Wolf  in  Disguise,"  "The  Ape  and  the 
Dolphin,"  and  "  The  Mouse  and  the  Frog."  "  The  Magic 
Kettle,"  from  Lang's  Crimson  Fairy  Book.  "  Green 
Jacket,"  from  Toto's  Merry  Winter.  "  The  Queen's 
Wand,"  from  Mopsa  the  Fairy,  by  Jean  Ingelow.  "  The 
Wild  Duck  Shooter,"  "  The  Moorish  Gold,"  "  The  Ouphe 
of  the  Wood,"  and  "  The  Lonely  Rock,"  from  Stories  Told 
to  a  Child,  by  Jean  Ingelow.  "  A  Fortune "  and  "  The 
Coming  of  the  King,"  from  The  Golden  Windows.  "  The 
Silver  Penny  and  "  The  Slippers  of  Abou  Karem,"  from 
The  Golden  Fairy  Book. 

"  Lady  Jane  Grey,"  from  Twitchell's  Famous  Children. 
"  The  Merchant  of  Seri,"  from  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories 
and  Legends.  "  Turning  the  Grindstone,"  by  Benjamin 
Franklin,  from  Prose  Every  Child  Should  Know.  "  Father 
Grumbler,"  from  Lang's  Aladdin  and  the  Wonderful  Lamp. 
"  The  Horse  and  the  Olive,"  from  Baldwin's  Old  Greek 
Stories.  "  Prince  Cherry,"  from  The  Little  Lame  Prince, 
by  Miss  Mulock.  "  The  Little  Hunchback,"  from  Fairy 
Legends  of  the  French  Provinces,  translated  by  Mrs.  M. 
Cary.  "The  Quarrelsome  Mole,"  from  Among  the  Forest 
People,  hy  Clara  D.  Pierson.  "The  Proud  Chicken," 
from  Chinese  Fables  and  Folk  Stories,  by  Mary  Hayes  Davis 
and  Chow-Leung.  "  The  Kind  Hermit,"  from  Stories  from 
the    Classic    Literature    of    Many    Lands.     "  Gunpowder 


THE  COMMUNITY  225 

Perils,"  "The  Cup  of  Water,"  from  A  Book  of  Golden 
Deeds. 

"Guinevere,"    from    Tennyson's    Idylls    of    the    King. 

Meeko  the  Mischief  Maker,"  from  William  J.  Long's 
Secrets  of  the  Woods.  Hans  Andersen's  "  Mermaid  "  and 
"The  Daisy."  "The  Punishment  of  the  Stingy,"  by 
George  Bird  Grinell.  "  Prisoners  and  Captives,"  from  Mrs. 
Lang's  Red  Book  of  Heroes.  "  Life  Savers  of  Lone  Hill," 
from  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds.  "A  Deed  of 
Dering-Do  "  from  Brave  Deeds,  Young  Folks  Library. 


And  God  made  the  beasts  of  the  earth  after  their  kind,  and 
the  cattle  after  their  kind,  and  everything  that  creepeth 
upon  the  ground  after  its  kind:  and  God  saw  that  it 
was  good. 

—  Genesis  i,  25. 

These  wait  all  for  thee, 

That  thou  mayest  give  them  their  food  in  due  season. 

Thou   givest  unto  them,  they   gather; 

Thou  openest  thy  hand,  they  are  satisfied  with  good. 

—  Psalm  civ,  27,  28. 

Are  not  five  sparrows  sold  for  two  pence?  and  not  one  of 
them  is  forgotten  in  the  sight  of  God. 

—  Luke  xii,  6. 

A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast. 

—  Proverbs  xii,  10. 

We  are  all  in  the  same  boat,  both  animals  and  men.  You 
cannot  promote  kindness  to  one  without  benefiting  the 
other. 

—  Edward  Everett  Hale. 

There  is  in  every  animal's  eye  a  dim  image  and  gleam  of 
humanity,  a  flash  of  strange  light  through  which  their 
life  looks  out  and  up  to  our  great  mystery  of  command 
over  them,  and  claims  the  fellowship  of  the  creature  if 
not  of  the  soul. 

—  John  Ruskin. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   SOCIAL   LIFE  —  RELATIONS   TO   ANIMALS 

In  the  economy  of  Nature  man  sustains  a  close 
relation  to  the  animal  kingdom.  In  the  later  stages 
of  his  development  animals  were  domesticated  by 
man,  and  some  of  them,  as  the  horse,  the  ox,  and  the 
dog,  now  render  him  valuable  service.  So  intimate 
has  this  relation  become  that  a  kind  of  "  friendship  " 
or  companionship  exists  between  them.  So  marked 
is  this  at  times  that  examples  of  notable  devotion  on 
the  part  of  animals  to  their  masters  and  mistresses 
are  on  record.  Wordsworth's  excellent  poem 
"  Fidelity/'  which  memorialises  the  faithfulness  of  a 
dog  to  his  master,  is  a  poem  based  on  fact,  and  the 
fact  itself  is  by  no  means  an  isolated  one.  On  the 
other  hand,  so  strong  is  the  regard,  if  not,  indeed,  af- 
fection of  the  master  or  mistress  for  the  dog  or 
horse,  due  to  this  sense  of  comradeship,  that  when 
the  animal  dies,  they  experience  a  genuine  grief. 
This  sense  of  comradeship  is  especially  character- 
istic of  children. 

Some  ethical  writers,  recognising  animals  as  not 
only  sentient,  but  social  beings,  and  noting  the  in- 
timate relationship  between  man  and  animals,  have, 
in  their  classification  of  duties,  spoken  of  "  Duties  to 

227 


228  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Animals. "  Whether  we  can  properly  speak  of  "  du- 
ties "  to  beings  that  are  not  persons  is  questionable. 
If  duties  are  based  on  moral  claims,  and  moral  claims 
belong  to  personal  beings,  then  moral  claims  and  du- 
ties are  correlative,  and,  unless  the  animal  is  a  per- 
son, we  can  hardly  say  that  it  has  a  moral  claim 
upon  us,  or  that  we  owe  a  duty  to  it.  But  whether 
this  can  be  strictly  said  or  not,  it  is  at  least  evident 
that  we  owe  it  to  ourselves,  as  well  as  to  the  Author 
of  Nature,  to  be  kind  and  humane  to  every  being  that 
is  capable  of  experiencing  pleasure  and  pain;  and, 
therefore,  it  practically  amounts  to  the  same  thing  as 
if  we  said  we  owe  duties  to  animals.  The  proverb 
says:  "A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his 
beast."  *  Kindness  and  humaneness  in  our  relation 
to  animals  are  really  measures  of  our  moral  worth. 

He  prayeth  well  who  loveth  well 

Both  man  and  bird  and  beast, 
He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 

All  things  both  great  and  small ; 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us 

He  made  and  loveth  all." 

Now,  in  our  effort  to  moralise  the  child  in  this  re- 
spect, there  are  a  number  of  things  that,  in  a  sense, 
constitute  obstacles  in  the  way.  In  the  first  place, 
all  along  the  line  of  man's  development  he  has  had 
to  contend  more  or  less  with  beasts  and  birds  of  prey. 
In  the  struggle  for  existence  he  has  been  compelled 

1  Proverbs  xii,  10. 


RELATIONS  TO  ANIMALS  229 

to  take  a  hostile  attitude  toward  a  large  number  of 
such,  and,  even  at  this  late  day,  the  struggle  must  be 
kept  up,  as  in  the  case  of  poisonous  serpents  and, 
in  certain  portions  of  the  earth,  in  the  case  of  fero- 
cious animals.  According  to  biological  evolution 
the  struggle  has  really  worked  an  advantage  to  man, 
having  proved  to  be  an  important  factor  in  his  devel- 
opment. But  with  the  extinction  of  some  of  the 
more  ferocious  species,  there  still  survives  in  man 
some  of  the  earlier  ferocious  instincts  which  manifest 
themselves  in  a  useless  slaughter  of  wild  animals,  a 
kind  of  wild  delight  in  hunting  "  big  game." 

Again,  man  being  a  flesh-eating  animal,  in  all  ages 
animals  have  been  slaughtered  to  minister  to  his 
bodily  needs.  Such  slaughter  continues  to-day  on  a 
tremendous  scale,  and  will  continue  unless  the  race 
should  be  convinced  of  the  sufficiency  of  a  vegetable 
diet.  This  wholesale  slaughter,  even  though  it 
seems  necessary,  and  is  carried  on  in  the  most  hu- 
mane fashion,  has  a  more  or  less  demoralising 
tendency,  which  we  must  reckon  with. 

Again,  in  the  light  of  modern  science,  we  have 
found  that  certain  animals  and  insects  are  bearers  of 
disease  germs,  and  these  are  a  menace  to  the  human 
organism.  So  we  find  it  necessary  to  destroy  them. 
Indeed,  we  find  it  expedient  often  to  visit  wholesale 
destruction  upon  them.  We  teach  our  children  in 
the  home  and  school  to  "  swat  the  fly,"  to  kill  the 
mosquito,  to  destroy  cockroaches,  mice,  and  other 
vermin.     All  this  must  be  done,  and  it  seems  right 


230  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

that  it  should  be  done.  But  it  has  a  tendency  more 
or  less  to  dull  our  humaneness,  and  renders  it  more 
difficult  to  teach  the  child  to  exercise  this  virtue  in 
relations,  and  under  conditions,  where  the  destruc- 
tion of  life  is  not  profitable. 

Again,  animals  are  our  inferiors,  and  are  utilised 
for  our  service  and  pleasure.  We  take  away  the 
freedom  of  many.  We  harness  the  horse  and  ox,  we 
stable  the  cow,  we  chain  the  dog,  we  cage  the  bird. 
This  attitude  of  dominion  over  the  animal  world  con- 
stitutes often  a  temptation  to  indulge  in  cruelty  to  ani- 
mals. So  strong  is  this  temptation  that  organisa- 
tions have  sprung  up  to  guard  their  "  rights,"  and 
these  "  rights  "  are  in  some  instances  made  the  sub- 
ject of  state  legislation. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  trying  to  teach  the  child 
kindness  to  animals,  parents  and  teachers  are  by  no 
means  confronted  with  an  easy  task.  They  have  to 
deal  with  inherited  tendencies,  and  with  certain  un- 
favourable influences  due  to  environment.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  there  are  some  things  that  help  them 
in  their  work.  It  is  a  very  noticeable  fact  that  young 
children  are  fond  of  animals.  Household  pets,  like 
cats  and  dogs  and  rabbits,  figure  largely  in  the  so- 
cial life  of  the  child.  Indeed,  he  is  often  more  fond 
of  them  than  of  persons.  This  is  doubtless  due  to 
the  fact  that  at  this  time  of  life  he  has,  in  a  sense, 
more  in  common  with  these  animals  than  he  has  with 
man.     This  fondness  does  not  cease  as  he  grows 


RELATIONS  TO  ANIMALS  231 

older.     The  dog  is  still  the  companion  of  the  boy  and 
the  cat  continues  to  be  the  pet  of  the  girl. 

Still,  despite  all  this,  there  is  both  a  thoughtless- 
ness and  cruelty  which  children  manifest  in  their  re- 
lation to  animals  and  insects  which  make  it  impera- 
tive to  deal  with  these  vices,  and,  because  of  the  pre- 
valence of  them,  it  will  probably  be  best  at  first  to 
put  the  emphasis  on  the  vice  of  cruelty  more  than  on 
the  virtue  of  kindness.  In  the  very  young  child  this 
cruelty  is  the  result  of  ignorance  or  thoughtlessness. 
He  will  maul  the  cat  and  dog  as  though  they  were  in- 
animate objects.  He  will  pull  off  the  legs  and  wings 
of  the  fly  as  though  the  fly  had  no  feeling  whatso- 
ever, and  could  maintain  its  being  without  these 
necessary  members.  A  little  later  in  life  the  child's 
ignorance  and  thoughtlessness  develop  into  a 
thoughtlessness  of  a  more  serious  character,  which  is 
sometimes  attended  by  a  conscious  cruelty.  He 
seems  to  delight  in  stoning  frogs,  birds,  squirrels,  and 
other  animals.  In  many  instances,  through  a  misdi- 
rected generosity  of  parents  or  friends,  he  is  made 
the  owner  of  an  air  gun  by  which  he  maims  or  kills 
birds  or  small  animals.  In  later  life  such  cruelty  is 
often  manifest  in  brutality  when  dealing  with  domes- 
tic animals,  such  as  the  horse,  ox,  and  dog.  Now 
all  that  makes  for  brutality  in  the  child  ought  to  be 
curbed.  It  makes  for  immorality,  and  we  will  prove 
recreant  to  our  trust  if  we  fail  to  treat  this  vice  seri- 
ously. 


232  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

It  may  be  that  cruelty  of  this  kind  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  as  merely  the  manifestation  of  "  frag- 
mentary rudiments  of  past  combat,  capture,  and 
killing  of  prey  and  enemies,"1  and  that  therefore  we 
ought  not  to  be  too  harsh  in  our  judgments  of  the 
boy's  conduct.  But  whether  it  is  to  be  thus  explained 
or  not,  it  is  nevertheless  an  evil,  and  it  is  our  duty  to 
do  what  we  can  to  restrain  such  "  atavistic  tenden- 
cies "2  in  children. 

Furthermore,  there  is  a  moral  obligation  here  as 
this  matter  relates  itself  to  society.  A  large  ma- 
jority of  the  community  finds  delight  in  song  birds 
and  in  birds  of  beautiful  plumage.  What  moral 
right  have  we  to  interfere  with  such  delight  simply 
to  gratify  selfish  cruelty  or  vanity?  Much  will  be 
taken  out  of  life  if  our  song  birds,  and  our  birds  of 
gay  plumage,  eventually  disappear.  Furthermore, 
birds  are  of  use  to  man.  They  eat  insects  and 
worms  that  destroy  our  trees.  Why  should  man  be 
deprived  of  this  service  to  gratify  the  savage  in- 
stincts of  the  boy  with  the  shotgun,  or  the  boy  after 
he  grows  up  and  makes  use  of  the  more  deadly  rifle? 
Society  is  awaking  to  the  danger,  and  is  beginning  a 
propaganda  in  the  interests  of  protecting  our  birds. 
Such  a  propaganda  can  be  best  carried  on  in  the 
school.  But  the  home  has  a  duty  to  perform  also. 
Here  wanton  destruction  of  birds  should  be  con- 

1  Burk,  "  Teasing  and  Bullying,"  Pedagogical  Seminary,  Vol.  IV, 
1897. 

2  See  W.  B.   Drummond,  An  Introduction  to   Child  Study,  New 
York  and  London,   1910,  p.  286. 


RELATIONS  TO  ANIMALS  233 

demned  as  a  vice,  to  refrain  from  which  is  a  moral 
obligation  that  the  child  owes  to  himself  and  to  so- 
ciety. 

But  thus  far  we  have  been  dwelling  largely  on  the 
negative  side  of  the  subject  —  on  the  vices  of  un- 
kindness  and  cruelty.  Let  us  now  turn  to  the  posi- 
tive side  —  the  virtues  of  kindness  and  humaneness. 
Just  how  much  this  includes  is  not  an  easy  matter  to 
determine.  Whether  it  means  more  than  merely 
supplying  the  physical  wants  of  the  animals  depend- 
ing upon  us  might  be  questioned  by  some.  It  at  least 
means  this  much,  and  this  alone  is  productive  of 
moral  results.  Dr.  Montessori  calls  attention  to  the 
effects  of  taking  care  of  plants  and  animals  on  both 
the  intellectual  and  moral  life  of  young  children. 
What  is  true  of  young  children  is  true  of  older  chil- 
dren as  well.     She  says : 

"  First,  The  child  is  initiated  into  observation  of 
the  phenomena  of  life.  He  stands  with  respect  to 
the  plants  and  animals  in  relations  analogous  to  those 
in  which  the  observing  teacher  stands  towards  him. 
Little  by  little,  as  interest  and  observation  grow,  his 
zealous  care  for  the  living  creature  grows  also,  and 
in  this  way  the  child  can  logically  be  brought  to  ap- 
preciate the  care  which  the  mother  and  the  teacher 
take  of  him. 

"  Second.  The  child  is  initiated  into  foresight  by 
way  of  auto-education;  when  he  knows  that  the  life 
of  the  plants  that  have  been  sown  depends  upon  his 
care  in  watering  them,  and  that  of  the  animals  upon 


234  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

his  diligence  in  feeding  them,  without  which  the  little 
plant  dries  up  and  the  animals  suffer  hunger,  the  child 
becomes  vigilant,  as  one  who  is  beginning  to  feel  a 
mission  in  life.  Moreover,  a  voice  quite  different 
from  that  of  his  mother  and  his  teacher  calling  him 
to  his  duties  is  speaking  here,  exhorting  him  never  to 
forget  the  task  he  has  undertaken.  It  is  the  plain- 
tive voice  of  the  needy  life  which  lives  by  his  care. 
Between  the  child  and  the  living  creatures  which  he 
cultivates  there  is  born  a  mysterious  correspondence 
which  induces  the  child  to  fulfil  certain  determinate 
acts  without  the  intervention  of  the  teacher,  that  is, 
leads  him  to  an  auto-education, 

"  The  rewards  which  the  child  reaps  also  remain 
between  him  and  nature ;  one  fine  day  after  long,  pa- 
tient care  in  carrying  food  and  straw  to  the  brooding 
pigeons,  behold  the  little  ones!  behold  a  number  of 
chickens  peeping  about  the  setting  hen  which  yester- 
day sat  motionless  in  her  brooding  place !  behold  one 
day  the  tender  little  rabbits  in  the  hutch  where  form- 
erly dwelt  in  solitude  the  pair  of  big  rabbits  to  which 
he  had  not  a  few  times  lovingly  carried  the  green 
vegetables  left  over  in  his  mother's  kitchen! ,u 

Observation,  foresight,  patience,  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility, kindness,  industry  —  all  result  from  such 
a  providence  which  children  exercise  over  animals, 
and  it  is  well  to  encourage  them  in  it  wherever  prac- 
ticable. 

Furthermore,  the  nature  of  animals  is  such,  that 

1  The  Montessori  Method,  New  York,  1912,  pp.  156-157. 


RELATIONS  TO  ANIMALS  235 

our  relation  to  them  involves  a  further  obligation  of 
kindness  —  an  obligation  to  train  them  for  higher 
enjoyment  —  an  enjoyment  of  companionship  with 
human  beings.  To  thus  train  animals  will  prove  not 
only  a  kindness  to  them,  but  it  will  enhance  our  own 
pleasure,  also,  and  the  exercise  of  such  kindness  re- 
acts upon  ourselves.  It  has  an  excellent  moral  ef- 
fect. Therefore  such  kindly  treatment  really  be- 
comes a  duty. 

We  ought  to  cultivate  in  the  child  a  religious  con- 
ception of  the  world.  It  is  God's  world.  He 
created  it  and  cares  for  it.  His  providence  extends 
to  all  of  his  creatures.  Such  a  conception  of  the 
world  in  its  relation  to  God  as  may  be  found  in  the 
104th  Psalm  ought  to  be  our  conception.  Jesus  tells 
us  that  not  even  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  un- 
heeded by  the  Heavenly  Father.1  If  God  thus  cares 
for  his  world,  we  should  respect  it  and  teach  our  chil- 
dren to  do  the  same.  Wanton  destruction  and  wan- 
ton cruelty  are  vices  that  are  inconsistent  with  a 
Christian  conception  of  the  world.  When  the  child 
once  grasps  the  conception  that  this  is  his  Heavenly 
Father's  world  and  that  therefore  he  should  not  un- 
necessarily injure  or  destroy  any  part  of  it,  we  will 
not  find  it  a  difficult  task  to  teach  him  the  virtues  of 
kindness  and  humaneness  in  his  relation  to  the  ani- 
mal kingdom. 

In  dealing  with  the  virtue  and  vice  growing  out  of 
our  relations  to  animals  the  teacher  will  find  that 

1  Matthew  x,  29. 


236  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

fables  and  allegories  especially  lend  themselves  to 
this  purpose.  They  often  deal  with  animal  life,  and 
in  their  personification  of  animals  the  moral  lesson 
may  be  impressively  brought  before  the  pupil.  It  is 
rather  surprising  that  modern  writers  of  fables  and 
allegories  have  not  made  more  use  of  this  method  to 
teach  morality  as  it  bears  on  this  subject.  Here, 
again,  is  a  field  for  cultivation  by  some  clever  writer. 
There  are,  however,  a  sufficient  number  of  fables 
available  so  that  the  teacher  will  not  be  handicapped 
in  the  use  of  the  indirect  method  here.  General 
story  literature  also  will  furnish  material  that  relates 
to  this  virtue  and  its  opposite  vice,  so  that  the  parent 
or  teacher  need  not  be  embarrassed  because  of  a  lack 
of  material. 

In  dealing  with  the  virtue  and  vice  growing  out  of 
our  relations  to  animals  the  following  graded  scheme 
is  recommended: 

Virtue  Grade 

i.  Kindness  to  animals  I  II  III  IV  V 

Vice  Grade 

2.  Cruelty  to  animals  I  II  III  IV  V 

In  considering  the  child's  relation  to  animals  the 
following  list  of  stories  and  selections  may  be  used: 

"  The  Two  Friends  "  and  "  Little  Gustava,"  from  The 
Way  of  the  Green  Pastures. 

11  A  Great  Painter  of  Animals,"  from  The  Way  of  the 
Rivers. 

"  Tom  and  the  Dragon-Fly,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Hills. 


RELATIONS  TO  ANIMALS  237 

"  Tom  and  the  Fairy  Bedonebyasyoudid  "  and  "  The  Em- 
peror's Bird's-Nest,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Mountains. 
u  "The  Children  and  the  Dog,"  "  The  Queen  Bee,"  and 
The  Slave  and  the  Lion,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder  Book. 

"  Poor  Old  Horse,"  "  The  Banyan  Deer,"  and  "  Who 
Stole  the  Bird's  Nest?  "from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  Sir  Isaac  Newton  "  and  "  Walter  von  der  Vogelweid," 
from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"  Stanley  and  the  Squirrels,"  from  Half  a  Hundred  Stories. 
iEsop's  "  The  Man  and  the  Foxes." 

"  The  Wild  Doves  of  St.  Francis,"  by  William  E.  A. 
Axon.     "  Dying  in  Harness,"  by  John  Boyle  O'Reilly. 

"  Rajeb's  Reward  "  and  "  The  Lost  Spear,"  from  Magic 
Casements,  by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin  and  Nora  Archibald 
Smith.     "  The  Wounded  Curlew,"  by  Celia  Thaxter. 


If  any  will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat. 

—  //  Thessalonians  iii,  10. 

Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order. 

—  /  Corinthians  xiv,  40. 

Behold,  the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious  fruit  of 
the  earth,  being  patient  over  it,  until  it  receive  the  early 
and  latter  rain.     Be  ye  also  patient. 

—  James  v,  7-8. 

And  let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing:  for  in  due  season  we 
shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not. 

—  Galatians   vi,   9. 

And  when  they  were  rilled,  he  saith  unto  his  disciples, 
Gather  up  the  broken  pieces  which  remain  over,  that 
nothing  be  lost. 

—  John   vi,    12. 

The  prudent  man  looketh  well  to  his  going. 

—  Proverbs  xiv,    15. 

And  he  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  thou  good  servant: 
because  thou  wast  found  faithful  in  a  very  little,  have 
thou  authority  over  ten  cities. 

—  Luke  xix,   17. 

Not  only  do  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  pursue  a  serious  call- 
ing, but  likewise  to  society  at  large.  The  man  who 
refuses  to  work  in  some  way  or  other  lives  at  others' 
expense.  .  .  . 

The  calling  is  the  guiding  principle  in  life;  it  gives  it 
steadiness   and   purpose. —  (Am.    trans.). 

—  Prof.  Frederick  Paulsen. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    ECONOMIC    LIFE 

Ethical  writers  emphasise  the  vital  significance  of 
the  vocational  life  in  the  moral  development  of  the 
individual  and  of  society.  A  vocation  tends  to  unify 
a  man's  life,  and  this  unity  is  itself  a  moral  gain.  It 
also  identifies  him  with  the  community  in  a  manner 
that  makes  both  for  his  own  as  well  as  for  the  com- 
munity's welfare.  Through  it,  in  a  systematic  way, 
he  makes  his  contribution  to  the  world's  work.  He 
is  not  only  saved  from  many  of  the  sins  of  idleness, 
but  he  also  develops  many  of  the  personal,  social,  and 
industrial  virtues.  He  thus  adds  to  his  own  enjoy- 
ment and  enrichment  of  character  as  well  as  to  the 
enjoyment  and  enrichment  of  the  life  of  society. 
The  more  the  teacher  realises  this,  the  more  she  will 
exert  herself  to  impress  upon  her  pupils  in  the  up- 
per grades  the  importance  of  the  vocational  life,  and 
to  establish  them  in  its  virtues  and  guard  them  against 
its  vices. 

By  the  economic  life  we  mean  whatever  concerns 
the  earning  of  one's  living.  Many  children  of  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  already  regarding  this 
matter  as  of  immediate  interest.  Even  if  they  have 
the  desire  to  pursue  their  studies  further,  their  cir- 
cumstances are  such  as  to  make  an  extended  course 

239 


240  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

out  of  the  question.  They  must  go  to  work  next 
year  or  the  year  after. 

The  fact  is  an  unfortunate  one  from  the  point  of 
view  of  education  in  general,  but  it  offers  a  certain 
educational  opportunity.  It  brings  into  the  last  two 
years  of  school  some  of  the  elements  which  enter  into 
the  preparation  for  a  profession.  It  is  well-known 
that  young  men  who  have  been  indifferent  students  in 
their  college  years  become  interested  and  industrious 
when  they  come  to  study  the  subjects  which  are  evi- 
dently necessary  for  their  success  in  life.  They  do 
not  need  to  be  compelled  to  work  hard.  If  in  a  like 
manner  the  boys  and  girls  who  are  presently  to  go 
out  of  the  school  into  the  shop  or  the  mill  perceive 
that  what  they  are  being  taught  in  school  bears  di- 
rectly upon  what  they  are  to  do  for  a  living,  and  may 
determine  whether  they  shall  succeed  or  not,  the 
problem  of  getting  their  interest  is  solved. 

This  is  easy  when  the  work  of  the  school  is  a  di- 
rect training  for  the  practical  life,  as  is  the  case  in 
manual  instruction,  and  in  such  subjects  as  bookkeep- 
ing, penmanship,  and  arithmetic.  But  the  wise 
teacher  will  show  that  the  most  important  part  of 
the  preparation  is  that  which  affects  character.  The 
initial  demand  in  the  world  of  business  is  that  which 
is  supplied  not  by  mere  dexterity  or  knowledge  of 
methods,  but  by  those  personal  qualities  which  make 
the  work  of  hands  and  brains  effective. 

One  of  these  qualities  is  industry.  This  is  the  vir- 
tue which  is  contradicted  by  the  vice  of  indolence. 


THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE  241 

It  is  the  solid  foundation  of  all  achievement.  Young 
people  are  sometimes  misled  by  the  dramatic  exam- 
ples of  adventurers  and  men  of  genius  who  seem 
to  have  accomplished  great  things  easily,  by  good 
luck,  without  trying.  They  remember  that  Aladdin 
was  a  lazy  lad  in  whose  hands  was  placed  a  magic 
lamp  which  made  him  master  of  the  unseen  powers. 
All  that  he  had  to  do  was  to  rub  the  lamp;  that  was 
the  most  serious  exertion  of  energy  required.  And 
he  became  rich  and  married  the  sultan's  daughter. 
The  real  truth,  however,  is  that  in  actual  life  the 
story  of  the  lazy  lad  is  parallel  with  the  story  of 
Aladdin  only  to  the  end  of  the  first  chapter.  Down 
he  goes  along  the  magic  stairs  in  search  of  gold  and 
gems,  and  the  cover  is  clapped  down  upon  him,  and 
there  he  is  in  the  dark  for  good :  he  never  gets  out. 
All  things  come  to  the  industrious.  Nothing  comes 
to  the  indolent  but  shame  and  failure,  and  the  loss 
of  all  the  things  which  are  to  be  attained  by  industry. 
Indolence  is  the  counterfeit  coin  which  is  offered  in 
purchase  of  the  good  things  of  life,  and  is  refused  at 
all  counters.  The  hours  of  the  day  are  like  the 
blank  leaves  of  a  check  book,  being  worth  only  what 
we  make  them  worth.  All  young  people  desire  to 
live  lives  of  self  respect  and  economic  independence. 
They  look  forward  to  the  owning  of  their  own 
homes,  and  to  the  successful  conduct  of  their  own 
business.  One  of  the  most  important  lessons  which 
they  can  learn  in  school  is  that  the  key  to  all  this 
pleasant  life  is  industry. 


242  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

But  in  order  to  make  the  importance  of  industry 
plain,  young  people  must  have  an  ambition  to  be  and 
to  do  that  which  requires  industry  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. Often  the  indolent  pupil  lacks  aspiration. 
He  comes  out  of  an  environment  of  plodding  and 
careless  life  in  which  there  are  low  standards  of  liv- 
ing. His  parents  and  his  neighbours  are  contented 
with  food  and  lodging  of  a  poor  kind,  and  are  satis- 
fied to  live  from  hand  to  mouth.  The  school  must 
appeal  to  ambition.  It  must  set  forth  the  possibili- 
ties which  are  within  the  reach  of  industrious  youth. 
It  must  show  how  both  health  and  happiness  await 
those  who  really  desire  them,  while  those  who  lack 
ambition  get  only  so  much  as  they  actively  desire. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  industrial  conditions  are  dif- 
ficult. There  is  a  feeling  in  the  minds  of  manual 
labourers  that  they  are  imprisoned  in  the  midst  of 
discouraging  conditions  out  of  which  they  cannot  es- 
cape. All  their  industry,  they  think,  will  but  contri- 
bute to  the  gains  of  their  masters,  leaving  them  as 
poor  as  ever.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many 
examples  of  men  of  conspicuous  success  who  began 
their  career  with  nothing.  They  are  prosperous  be- 
cause they  worked  hard  and  intelligently,  while  the 
other  boys  who  went  to  school  with  them  are  poor. 
They  laid  hold  of  every  opportunity.  One  might 
have  said  that  they  had  no  chance.  The  future,  it 
seemed,  belonged  to  the  sons  of  the  rich,  who  had 
every  advantage  to  start  with.  But  it  did  not  work 
out  that  way.     They  were  determined  to  succeed. 


THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE  243 

Their  constant  ambition  opened  a  way  for  them  over 
all  obstacles.  They  made  effective  weapons  out  of 
the  opportunities  which  others  threw  away. 

"  There  spread  a  cloud  of  dust  along  the  plain  ; 
And  underneath  the  cloud,  or  in  it,  raged 
A  furious  battle,  and  men  yelled,  and  swords 
Shocked  upon  swords  and  shields.     A  prince's  banner 
Wavered,  then  staggered  backward,  hemmed  by  foes. 
A  craven  hung  along  the  battle's  edge, 
And  thought,  '  Had  I  a  sword  of  keener  steel  — 
That  blue  blade  that  the  king's  son  bears, —  but  this 
Blunt  thing  — !  '  he  snapt  and  flung  it  from  his  hand, 
And  lowering  crept  away  and  left  the  field. 
Then  came  the  king's  son,  wounded,  sore  bestead, 
And  weaponless,  and  saw  the  broken  sword, 
Hilt-buried  in  the  dry  and  trodden  sand, 
And  ran  and  snatched  it,  and  with  battle-shout 
Lifted  afresh  he  hewed  his  enemy  down, 
And  saved  a  great  cause  that  heroic  day." 

These  are  noble  lines  for  the  memory  of  youth, 
worth  being  printed  in  great  letters  and  hung  on 
schoolroom  walls,  for  the  incitement  of  high  ambi- 
tion, and  for  the  assurance  that  success  is  won  not 
by  favour,  nor  by  excellence  of  tools  or  weapons,  so 
much  as  by  constant  determination,  and  the  resolve 
to  do  difficult  things  in  an  heroic  spirit. 

Along  with  industry  and  ambition  as  good  quali- 
ties of  the  economic  life  goes  the  virtue  of  order. 
There  is  a  plodding  and  unintelligent  industry  which 
defeats  all  the  dreams  of  ambition  because  it  does 
not  use  the  time  aright.     Order  begins  with  prompt- 


244  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

ness.  The  orderly  worker  is  on  hand  punctually,  at 
the  moment.  This  is  plainly  one  of  the  virtues  for 
which  the  discipline  of  the  school  provides  continual 
exercise.  The  wise  teacher  shows  the  pupils  how 
promptness,  and  regularity,  and  system,  and  the  de- 
tails of  order  are  necessary,  not  only  that  the  life 
of  the  school  may  proceed  well,  but  that  the  lives  of 
the  scholars  may  be  affected  by  it.  They  are  to  be 
reminded  that  this  virtue  is  as  essential  to  all  econo- 
mic progress  as  a  knowledge  of  tools  is  essential  to 
a  mechanic.     Prosperity  is  impossible  without  it. 

Thus  the  failure  of  a  farm  is  proclaimed  by  the 
implements  which  lie  neglected. in  the  field.  That 
spectacle  of  improvidence  and  neglect  and  disorder 
is  not  only  an  evidence  that  the  farm  does  not  pay, 
but  an  explanation  of  its  poor  returns.  The  trouble 
with  the  farm  is  that  it  is  managed  by  a  farmer  who 
sees  no  harm  in  leaving  his  hoes  and  shovels,  his 
plows  and  rakes  under  the  wet  sky.  That  shows 
what  sort  of  man  he  is.  The  failure  is  first  in  the 
character  of  the  farmer;  then,  as  a  consequence,  in 
the  farm. 

Order  is  required,  then,  in  the  schoolroom. 
Desks  must  be  kept  neat,  bells  must  be  obeyed  with 
immediate  response,  hours  must  be  observed  to  the 
minute,  quiet  must  be  maintained,  the  school  must 
proceed  with  the  carefulness  of  a  business  office,  in 
order  that  boys  and  girls  may  be  taught  this  very 
necessary  virtue  of  order.  Employers  are  looking 
for  young  people,  who,  together  with  industry  and 


THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE  245 

ambition,  have  a  sense  of  order.  To  such  the  re- 
wards of  the  economic  life  are  given.  They  get  the 
promotions.  When  places  of  responsibility  are 
open,  and  young  men  are  to  be  advanced  to  master- 
ships, account  is  taken  of  their  orderly  habits.  They 
who  would  be  intrusted  with  the  keeping  of  order, 
with  the  conduct  of  a  system,  must  first  be  systematic 
and  orderly  themselves. 

There  are  two  allied  virtues  which  take  these 
qualities  of  industry  and  ambition  and  order  out  of 
the  enthusiasm  of  new  resolutions,  and  make  them 
a  settled  part  of  the  working  day.  One  of  them  is 
patience,  the  other,  is  perseverance.  These  make 
youth  willing  to  wait.  For  the  rewards  of  virtue 
are  often  slow  in  coming.  One  says  hastily  to  him- 
self, "  I  have  lived  according  to  the  principles  which 
ought  to  bring  advancement,  and  I  am  not  advanced. 
My  wages  are  no  more  than  they  were  two  years 
ago.  I  will  give  up  the  fruitless  effort."  In  such 
cases  it  is  sometimes  well  for  the  discouraged  worker 
to  ask  himself:  "  Am  I  really  worth  more  than  I  was 
two  years  ago?  Am  I  contributing  more  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  business  than  I  was?"  For  the  un- 
changed wage  may  mean  that  the  worker  is  un- 
changed. But  if  the  question  may  be  answered  in 
the  worker's  favour,  and  still  his  virtues  seem  to 
have  no  recognition  nor  reward,  then  the  needed 
qualities  are  those  of  patience  and  of  perseverance. 
All  the  virtues  are  tested  by  them. 

Men  must  have  virtues  which  can  stand  strains. 


246  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

They  must  be  enduring.  Sometimes  the  master  is 
watching  to  see  if  the  good  qualities  of  the  man  are 
real;  they  may  be  only  the  products  of  a  passing 
enthusiasm.  The  man  may  work  well  under  pleasant 
conditions,  but  may  have  no  staying  qualities.  The 
successful  man  is  he  who  has  met  discouragement  a 
thousand  times.  Often  he  failed  when  he  hoped  to 
succeed,  and  had  no  recognition,  was  not  appreciated, 
seemed  to  make  no  progress.  Under  these  circum- 
stances most  of  his  companions  on  the  way  to  suc- 
cess became  discouraged  and  gave  up,  and  that  was 
the  end  of  them.     He  kept  on. 

But  patience  and  perseverance  imply  discourage- 
ment and  difficulty.  These  conditions  are  essential 
to  their  existence.  Patience  is  a  virtue  only  when 
we  have  good  reason  to  be  impatient,  and  persever- 
ance means  nothing  unless  it  is  hard  for  us  to  per- 
severe. Thus  all  the  difficulties  of  school  life  are 
as  much  a  part  of  the  economic  life  which  follows 
as  the  rigors  of  practice  are  a  part  of  the  game. 
The  purpose  of  practice  is  to  accustom  players  to 
hard  usage  in  order  that  they  may  take  it  cheerfully 
and  without  surprise  when  they  get  it  from  the  other 
team.  Soft  practice  makes  soft  players,  as  soft 
studies  make  soft  people,  unable  to  meet  the  diffi- 
culties of  life.  The  lesson  is  hard  because  life  is 
hard,  and  the  school  is  meant  to  train  youth  to  en- 
counter hardship. 

The  virtues  of  economy  and  prudence,  important 
as  they  are  in  the  work  of  the  world,  are  some- 


THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE  247 

what  remote  from  the  work  of  the  school.  Life 
stretches  out  so  immeasurably  before  the  feet  of 
youth  that  it  is  hard  for  the  young  to  realise  that  they 
must  take  care  of  their  hours.  Why  be  careful, 
when  there  are  so  many  hours?  And  the  saving  of 
money  is  remote  from  most  pupils,  since  few  of  them 
are  earning  it.  The  value  of  money  is  hardly  more 
than  an  academic  proposition  until  one  discovers  by 
experience  how  hard  it  is  to  get  and  keep.  That  ex- 
travagance is  a  vice  must  be  taught  as  a  dogma,  the 
lesson  being  confirmed  later  by  reason  and  experi- 
ence. 

The  teacher  may  show  that  time  and  money  are 
the  materials  of  our  continual  bargains.  We  are 
forever  spending  them,  and  getting  what  we  pay  for. 
The  instinct  to  make  a  good  bargain,  the  reluctance 
to  be  cheated,  is  universal,  and  makes  a  basis  of  ap- 
peal. Evidently,  the  permanent  is  better  than  the 
temporary,  gold  is  better  than  brass;  to  buy  some- 
thing to  keep  is  better  than  to  buy  something  to  throw 
away.  And  if  we  buy  this,  we  cannot  buy  that. 
Thus  wastefulness  may  be  impressed  upon  the  mind 
as  a  form  of  folly.  The  youth  who  throws  away 
time  which  might  be  used  for  his  advancement  in  life 
might  as  well  pitch  his  dimes  over  the  bridge. 
Wasted  money,  for  foolish  purchases,  is  a  reason  for 
derision,  like  the  folly  of  one  who  because  of  ignor- 
ance or  of  carelessness  is  continually  cheated.  Im- 
providence is  a  thing  to  be  ashamed  of  as  a  mark  of 
lack  of  knowledge  of  life.     In  the  curious  colour 


248  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

scheme  of  popular  morals  the  youth  who  is  under- 
taking, as  the  phrase  is,  to  paint  the  world  red  is 
succeeding  only  in  painting  himself  green. 

The  list  of  the  more  outstanding  economic  virtues 
closes  with  the  personal  qualities  of  honesty  and 
courage.  They  are  closely  allied.  For  honesty,  in 
any  large  definition  of  the  word,  means  not  only  the 
keeping  of  one's  hands  from  picking  and  stealing, 
but  a  certain  allegiance  to  one's  convictions.  He  is 
honest  who  is  true,  sincere,  and  genuine,  and  who 
does  what  he  believes  to  be  right,  and  declines  to  do 
what  he  believes  to  be  wrong.  And  this  calls  for 
courage.  It  implies  self-reliance.  It  demands  a 
measure  of  initiative  and  independence.  He  who 
has  honesty  and  courage  possesses  the  qualities  of 
leadership.  At  the  least,  he  will  not  be  found  ig- 
nobly following  a  crowd  to  do  evil.  He  can  be  de- 
pended upon.  He  orders  his  conduct,  not  by  the 
prohibitions  of  the  law,  but  by  the  guidance  of  his 
own  conscience,  and  will  do  well  whether  he  is  com- 
manded or  not,  and  whether  he  is  observed  or  not. 

These  personal  qualities  should  be  developed  in 
the  school,  not  by  regulation,  nor  by  direct  instruc- 
tion, but  by  the  attraction  of  noble  examples.  A 
series  of  readers  that  holds  up  to  the  admiration  and 
emulation  of  youth  honest  and  courageous  heroes 
will  be  of  great  service  here.  The  stories  of  their 
lives  help  to  make  a  public  opinion  which  praises 
moral  bravery.  It  assists  a  condition  out  of  which 
boys  and  girls  go  into  the  world  with  certain  fine 


THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE  249 

ideals,  rejoicing  in  the  strength  of  the  body,  but  re- 
joicing even  more  in  that  strength  of  the  will  and  of 
the  soul  which  keeps  men  true  to  the  distinction  be- 
tween right  and  wrong,  and  makes  them  instinctive 
champions  of  right. 

According  to  recent  trustworthy  statistics  about 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  children  of  our  public 
schools  leave  the  schools  without  entering  upon  high 
school  work.  This  means  that  many  of  them,  both 
boys  and  girls,  enter  upon  life  at  this  time  as  "  bread- 
winners." Because  of  this  fact  it  is  exceedingly  im- 
portant that  they  should  be  trained  in  the  economic 
virtues  before  they  leave  the  elementary  schools. 
To  thus  train  the  boy  and  girl  is  to  give  them  the  best 
kind  of  vocational  guidance.  It  is  to  teach  them 
how  to  make  the  most  of  their  lives  in  "  the  struggle 
for  existence,"  and  the  struggle  for  human  welfare, 
in  the  business  world  into  which  so  many  of  them 
soon  must  enter.  These  virtues  are,  indeed,  "  splen- 
did utilities;  "  but,  in  addition  to  the  utilitarian  ad- 
vantages resulting  from  their  practice,  they  save 
youth  from  the  crasser  influences  of  the  vocational 
life.  Its  sordid  materialism  will  be  relieved  by  a 
wholesome  idealism. 

The  following  graded  scheme  will  be  found  help- 
ful as  a  basis  for  training  children  in  the  virtues  of 
the  economic  life.  It  will  be  noted  that  they  belong 
primarily  to  the  upper  grades. 


250 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 


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THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE 


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252  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

The  following  list  of  stories  and  selections  may  be 
used  in  connection  with  the  virtues  of  the  vocational 
life: 

"  Daily  Work,"  "  The  Way  to  Wealth,"  "  To-day  "  and 
"  The  Story  of  Whang,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Stars. 

"  Four  Pioneers,"  "  A  Working  Monk,"  "  An  Architect 
of  Fortune,"  "Maxims  on  Economy,"  "  Be  Strong!"  and 
"  Prudent  and  Self-Reliant  Young  Americans,"  from  The 
Way  of  the  King's  Gardens. 

"A  Persevering  Youth,"  "Something  to  Do,"  "The 
Heritage,"  "Heroes  of  Progress,"  "Wise  Work"  and 
"  Impossible,"  from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Palace. 

"  Robert  Fulton,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"The  Goblin  and  the  Huckster,"  "A  Song,"  "Ad- 
versity," "Of  Sir  Beaumains  and  His  Quest,"  "  The  Story 
of  Ali  Cogia,"  "The  Light  of  Stars,"  "  Lochinvar," 
"  Palissy  the  Potter,"  "  Three  Questions,"  "  The  Boyhood 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  and  "  How  Marbot  Crossed  the  Dan- 
ube," from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"  Polonius  to  Laertes,"  "  A  Brave  Rescue  and  a  Rough 
Ride,"  "A  Master  of  Fate,"  "Thomas  Alva  Edison," 
"Quiet  Work,"  "Habit,"  "The  Chambered  Nautilus," 
"  Days,"  "  Order  in  the  House,"  "  Ulysses,"  "  A  Glance 
Backward,"  "  Salutation  of  the  Dawn,"  "  Joyfulness," 
"  Sonnet  on  his  Blindness,"  "  The  Singers,"  "  Ode  to  Duty," 
"The  Mystery  of  Life,"  "The  Choir  Invisible,"  "The 
War  Horse  and  the  Seven  Kings,"  "  George  Washington," 
and  "  The  Carronade,"  from  The  Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  An  Oriole's  Nest,"  and  "  The  Builders,"  from  Ways  of 
Wood  Folk,  by  William  J.  Long.  "Robert  Owen," 
"  Chauncey  Jerome,"  "  Michael  Reynolds,"  "  Peter  Faneuil 
and  the  Great  Hall  He  Built,"  and  "  George  Flower,"  from 
Captains  of  Industry,  by  James  Parton.  "  Mary  Lyon," 
from  An  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds.     "  The  One- 


THE  ECONOMIC  LIFE  253 

Eyed  Servant,"  from  Stories  Told  to  a  Child.  "  Life  "  and 
"Opportunity,"  by  Edward  Roland  Sill.  "The  Rescue 
Party,"  from  A  Book  of  Golden  Deeds.  Story  of  George 
Stephenson.  Story  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy.  "Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert,"  from  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects, 
by  J.  A.  Froude.  "  History  of  Cogia  Hassam  Alhabbal," 
in  Stories  from  the  Arabian  Nights,  published  by  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company. 


Put  them  in  mind  to  be  in  subjection  to  rulers,  to  authorities, 
to  be  obedient,  to  be  ready  unto  every  good  work. 

—  Titus  iii,   i. 
If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem, 
Let  my  right  hand  forget  her  skill. 
Let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth, 
If  I  remember  thee  not; 
If  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem 
Above  my  chief  joy. 

—  Psalm  exxxvii,  5,  6. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Keep  ye  justice,  and  do  righteousness. 

—  Isaiah  Ivi,   1. 

Thou  shalt  not  wrest  justice:  thou  shalt  not  respect  persons; 
neither  shalt  thou  take  a  bribe;  for  a  bribe  doth  blind 
the  eyes  of  the  wise,  and  pervert  the  words  of  the 
righteous. 

—  Deuteronomy  xvi,  19. 

For  Zion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and  for  Jerusalem's 
sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  her  righteousness  go  forth 
as  brightness,  and  her  salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burneth. 

—  Isaiah  lxii,  1. 

I  am  the  Lord,  thy  God,  who  brought  thee  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

—  Exodus  xx,  2. 

Be  of  good  courage,  and  let  us  play  the  man  for  our  people, 
and  for  the  cities  of  our  God. 

—  //  Samuel  x,  12. 

Honour  all  men.  Love  the  brotherhood.  Fear  God. 
Honour  the  king. 

—  /  Peter  ii,  17. 

Render  to  all  their  dues:  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due; 
custom  to  whom  custom;  fear  to  whom  fear;  honour  to 
whom  honour. 

—  Romans  xiii,  7. 

Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem. 

—  Psalm  exxii,  6. 

They  help  every  one  his  neighbor;  and  every  one  saith  to 
his  brother,  Be  of  good  courage. 

—  Isaiah  xli,  6. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   POLITICAL   LIFE 

The  perils  which  are  involved  in  the  attempt  to 
combine  politics  and  religion  have  passed  into  a  pro- 
verb. They  are  abundantly  illustrated  in  history. 
But  they  refer  not  so  much  to  essential  religion  and 
essential  politics  as  to  the  organisation  of  these  ele- 
ments of  life  into  societies  and  parties. 

There  is  a  natural  and  necessary  antagonism  be- 
tween partisan  politics  and  sectarian  religion,  because 
each  of  these  is  a  form  of  selfishness.  The  partisan 
in  politics  is  considering  not  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple, but  the  success  of  his  party;  he  is  concerned  about 
the  possession  of  political  power  for  his  own  pur- 
poses. And  the  sectarian  in  religion  is  interested  not 
so  much  in  the  community  as  in  his  particular  de- 
nomination, beyond  whose  limits  he  rarely  looks;  he 
desires  the  contributions,  the  privileges,  the  build- 
ings, the  prestige,  the  power  which  will  exalt  his  own 
society.  In  partisan  politics  and  in  sectarian  reli- 
gion there  is  the  same  spirit  of  disregard  of  the  com- 
mon good  for  the  sake  of  the  individual  gain. 

Every  kind  of  selfishness  is  the  enemy  of  every 
other  kind  of  selfishness.  Each  interferes  with  the 
other.     Each    is    determined   either   to    use    or   to 

255 


256  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

destroy  the  other.  The  antagonism  is  concealed  by 
the  ordinarily  decent  behaviour  of  respectable  peo- 
ple, but  it  exists  beneath  the  polite  conventions,  and 
appears  on  the  occasion  of  any  crisis. 

Under  various  different  names  the  Church  has  got 
itself  hated  by  the  people,  whenever  the  people  have 
discovered  that  the  Church  does  not  care  for  them. 
When  such  a  discovery  is  made,  and  the  accusation  is 
true,  trouble  immediately  follows.  The  Church  is 
despoiled  of  the  wealth  and  power  which  it  has  been 
eagerly  attaining,  when  its  supreme  purpose  should 
have  been  the  salvation  of  the  people  from  their  sins. 
The  great  word,  "  He  that  saveth  his  life  shall  lose 
it,"  is  verified  again.  This  has  taken  place  in  dif- 
ferent lands  and  times,  and  in  different  kinds  of  reli- 
gion, Catholic  and  Protestant.  It  is  a  conquest  of 
the  church  by  the  world.  It  is  not  an  indictment  of 
religion,  any  more  than  disease  and  sin  are  indict- 
ments of  humanity.  But  it  is  a  temptation  which  is 
to  be  recognised  and  guarded  against  like  a  con- 
tagion. 

In  schools  where  the  conditions  permit  the  free 
discussion  of  religion,  this  historical  fact  should  be 
made  plain,  and  the  warning  which  it  involves  should 
be  given.  The  schools  are  educating  citizens,  some 
of  whom  will  be  holders  of  office,  and  all  of  whom 
will  have  a  voice  in  the  selection  of  holders  of  office. 
These  young  people  should  be  so  trained  that  they 
will  know  the  difference  between  the  officer  who  is 
interested  mainly  in  his  party  or  in  his  church  or  in 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  257 

himself,  and  the  officer  who  is  interested  mainly  in 
securing  for  the  people  the  best  possible  service. 
They  should  be  made  to  see  that  the  partisan  and  the 
sectarian  defeat  their  own  plans,  and  that  their  activi- 
ties, however  successful  temporarily,  are  finally  a  be- 
trayal of  their  party  and  their  sect. 

In  domestic  service  there  are  servants  who  take 
commissions  from  the  grocer  and  the  butcher;  they 
are  making  individual  profit  on  the  side.  Their  in- 
tention is  not  that  their  employer  shall  get  the  best 
possible  value  for  his  money.  When  they  are  found 
out,  they  are  discharged,  and  the  grocer  and  the 
butcher  who  used  them  lose  their  trade.  In  political 
service  there  are  employees  who  are  eagerly  con- 
cerned to  get  employment  for  their  brethren  in  reli- 
gion. When  they  have  the  power  of  appointment 
they  consider  not  the  interests  of  the  people,  who 
ought  to  have  the  most  competent  service,  but  the 
interests  of  some  church  to  which  they  belong.  The 
result  is  that  they  fill  the  ranks  with  their  co-religion- 
ists, steadily  depreciating  the  standards  of  service, 
until  presently  the  situation  is  publicly  perceived. 
Then  there  is  a  protest,  in  which  temper  is  lost,  and 
the  good  are  confounded  with  the  bad,  and  the 
church  is  confused  with  religion,  and  out  go  the 
whole  company  of  sectarians.  Meanwhile,  their 
sect  has  been  represented  to  the  convnunity  as  inter- 
ested not  in  souls,  but  in  salaries;  and  religion,  mixed 
up  with  this  dishonest  selfishness,  suffers  a  long  loss. 

Young  people  ought  to  be  made  to  see  that  this 


Z5  8  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

works  with  the  precision  of  a  machine.  Defeat  will 
follow  every  endeavour  to  exalt  a  religious  society 
at  the  expense  of  the  people,  as  burning  will  over- 
take every  finger  which  is  touched  to  hot  iron.  The 
only  abiding  exaltation  of  the  church  comes  from  its 
self-effacing  service  of  the  community.  The  church- 
man in  office  will  best  serve  the  church  to  which  he 
belongs  by  securing  to  the  people  the  best  possible 
persons  to  do  their  work,  and  by  having  no  other 
concern  whatever  than  the  public  good.  Religious 
education,  even  in  sectarian  schools,  must  take  ac- 
count of  the  unchangeable  psychology  of  the  situa- 
tion. 

It  is  to  be  understood,  further,  that  the  true  State 
is  one  aspect  of  a  true  Church.  For  religion  is  only 
half  worship;  the  other  half  is  work.  It  is  only  in 
part  sanctification;  the  sanctification  is  for  the  sake 
of  service.  Out  of  the  privilege  and  inspiration  of 
the  Church  men  and  women  are  to  go  to  their  oppor- 
tunities and  duties  in  the  State.  They  are  to  realise 
the  righteousness  in  which  true  religion  manifests  it- 
self. 

The  State  is  an  ethical  institution.  It  exists  for 
the  welfare  of  the  people.  This  is  its  supreme  end. 
However  inferior  may  be  the  conception  of  "  wel- 
fare "  which  the  people  may  form,  still  it  is  an  ideal 
that  they  impose  upon  themselves,  and  the  realisation 
of  which,  in  a  measure  at  least,  they  apprehend  as  a 
moral  obligation.  By  its  aims,  its  laws, —  prohibi- 
tory and  mandatory, —  its  aspirations  and  its  inspira- 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  259 

tions,  the  State  proves  to  be  a  tremendous  moralising 
force,  and  anything  that  can  be  done  to  promote  its 
highest  interests  should  be  done. 

The  public  schools  are  in  a  large  measure  training 
schools  for  citizenship.  Supported  as  they  are  by 
the  people,  this  should  be  their  primary  aim,  and 
they  ought  to  be  training  schools  for  good  citizen- 
ship. Here  that  knowledge  and  sentiment  which 
make  for  such  ends  should  be  fostered.  It  is  here 
that  the  individual  should  be  instructed  and  estab- 
lished in  those  virtues  which  make  for  the  public 
weal  —  in  that  "  righteousness  which  exalteth  a  na- 
tion." A  school  that  fails  to  realise  its  duty  in  this 
respect  fails  in  one  of  its  most  fundamental  moral 
obligations.  What,  then,  are  these  virtues,  and  how 
can  we  effectively  introduce  the  pupil  to  them? 

The  foundation  virtue  of  the  political  life  is  one 
which  has  a  like  place  both  in  the  school  and  in  the 
home.  All  discipline,  whether  domestic,  academic, 
or  political,  begins  with  it.  The  lack  of  it  imperils 
or  destroys  all  organisation.  This  is  the  virtue  of 
obedience. 

The  first  ground  of  obedience  is  authority.  In 
early  childhood,  and  in  such  classes  of  society  as  have 
hardly  developed  beyond  the  unreasoning  stage,  this 
is  the  only  basis  of  obedience.  The  mind  and  the 
will  must  be  directed  by  a  superior  wisdom  and 
strength.  The  command  must  be  heeded  because  it 
is  a  command,  whether  it  is  agreeable  or  not,  and 
whether  it  is  understood  or  not.     Prompt  and  un- 


26o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

questioning  obedience  is  necessary  at  this  period  for 
its  own  sake,  in  order  to  develop  habit,  as  various 
exercises  are  necessary  as  an  initiation  into  art,  or 
music,  or  letters,  in  order  to  develop  dexterity.  The 
encouragement  of  this  virtue  is  in  the  approval  of 
those  in  authority  when  it  appears,  and  their  disap- 
proval when  it  is  lacking.  It  is  assisted  by  examples, 
such  as  appear  in  a  series  of  ethical  readers,  of  boys 
and  girls  who  obeyed  splendidly  under  difficult  con- 
ditions. All  the  singing,  marching,  and  drilling  of 
the  schoolroom,  and  whatever  else  goes  to  the  sound 
of  a  bell,  are  in  the  direction  of  obedience. 

As  years  increase,  and  it  becomes  possible  to  make 
more  appeal  to  reason  or  imagination,  the  almost 
instinctive  interest  which  children  have  in  soldiers 
and  sailors  may  be  made  to  contribute  to  this  virtue. 
These  men  obey  instantly,  and  all  their  strength 
proceeds  from  that  fact.  Thus  the  teacher  passes 
from  authority  as  a  ground  of  obedience  to  lay  a 
second  foundation  in  the  fact  of  efficiency.  It  is 
plain  that  a  good  regiment  obeys,  and  it  may  be  made 
plain  that  a  school,  in  order  to  be  a  good  school,  must 
obey.  All  the  energies  of  the  captain  must  be  set 
free  for  use  in  leading  the  regiment  into  action.  He 
must  not  be  delayed  and  distracted  by  having  to  urge 
laggards  into  line.  And  all  the  energies  of  the 
teacher  must  be  set  free  for  teaching.  On  goes  this 
regiment  into  the  battle  of  life ;  every  inattentive  or 
disobedient  soldier  weakens  it.  The  universal  in- 
terest of  children  in  athletic  games  affords  another 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  261 

opportunity  for  connecting  obedience  with  efficiency. 
For  the  phrase  "  team  play  "  is  equivalent  to  obedi- 
ence in  action.  Instant  response  must  be  made  to 
the  word  of  the  leader. 

As  children  grow  still  older  they  may  be  made  to 
understand  that  school  laws  are  the  expression  of 
careful  wisdom.  This  understanding  is  impeded  in 
some  cases  by  a  conviction  based  on  experience  that 
home  laws  often  represent  impulse  or  impatience  or 
a  failure  to  appreciate  the  conditions  of  child  life. 
But  even  here  the  reasonableness  of  the  academic 
regulation  may  be  made  clear.  Much  may  be  done 
by  explanation  of  the  reasons  for  the  regulations 
made  sometimes  to  the  whole  school,  and  sometimes 
to  a  chosen  group  of  natural  leaders.  The  wise 
teacher  will  invite  discussion,  and  be  ready  to  listen 
attentively  to  all  counter-arguments.  In  this  way 
the  energies  of  the  scholars  themselves  may  be  en- 
listed on  the  side  of  the  constituted  authorities. 

The  importance  of  the  whole  matter  is  evidenced 
by  the  continual  complaints  of  the  ineffectiveness 
of  the  public  school  in  teaching  respect  for  law. 
Often  a  part  of  the  failure  arises  from  the  presenta- 
tion of  school  law  on  the  basis  of  authority  alone  to 
boys  and  girls  who  ought  to  be  appealed  to  on  the 
basis  of  efficiency  and  reason.  The  law  is  a  coercive 
fact  by  which  youth  is  kept  in  bondage.  The  chil- 
dren are  conscious  only  of  the  restraint  of  it.  They 
,  consequently  hate  it,  and  on  every  convenient  occa- 
sion react  from  it.     They  are  at  war  with  the  teacher 


262  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

in  the  school,  and  they  continue  to  be  at  war  with 
the  policeman  when  they  get  out  of  school.  They 
need  to  be  taught  the  value,  the  right  and  the  neces- 
sity of  law.  Much  may  be  learned  from  the  meth- 
ods of  such  organisations  as  the  George  Junior  Re- 
public, and  from  the  conduct  of  successful  boys' 
camps. 

The  essence  of  sound  political  life  is  in  regard  for 
law  as  a  common  possession.  It  is  our  law,  made 
for  us  by  men  whom  we  have  chosen  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  enforced  by  men  in  uniform  whose  salaries 
are  paid  by  us  in  the  form  of  taxes.  It  is  a  regula- 
tion agreed  upon  by  us  all  as  the  best  method  for 
securing  order  and  efficiency  in  the  living  of  our  life. 
It  may,  indeed,  be  questioned  how  far  it  is  possible 
to  introduce  into  secondary  schools,  and  especially 
into  elementary  schools,  the  self-government  which 
works  so  admirably  in  some  colleges.  But  some 
measure  of  it  may  probably  be  used  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  has  as  yet  been  attempted.  The  simplest 
form  is  a  choice  by  the  teachers,  or  still  better  by  the 
pupils,  of  certain  representatives,  with  whom  the 
makers  and  administrators  of  school  law  may  profit- 
ably confer.  The  result  ought  to  be  a  company  of 
youth  who  shall  go  out  of  the  school  accustomed  to 
regard  law  as  a  rule  to  be  not  only  obeyed  but  en- 
forced. The  pupils  themselves  are  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  law. 

Political  duty  is  changed  to  enthusiasm  by  the 
fostering  of  love  of  country.     Children  may  very 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  263 

early  be  taught  to  be  proud  of  the  land,  the  nation, 
the  city,  the  locality  in  which  they  live.  Thus 
geography  becomes  instruction  in  patriotism.  The 
children  learn  in  how  great  and  wonderful  and  beau- 
tiful a  place  they  have  their  residence.  They  be- 
come aware  of  the  large  fact  of  nationality,  and  are 
made  acquainted  with  the  resources,  the  growth,  the 
possibilities  of  the  country.  They  are  taught  in 
their  study  of  history  what  has  been  done  for  them 
by  the  pioneers,  adventurers,  settlers,  statesmen,  and 
heroes.  They  perceive  that  they  are  entering  into  a 
precious  heritage.  They  are  prepared  to  take  their 
places  in  this  march  of  progress.  They  come  to  un- 
derstand how  the  government,  national  and  local,  is 
administered,  and  what  is  actually  being  done  under 
the  leadership  of  legislators  in  the  national  and  state 
councils,  and  in  city  halls  and  town  meetings,  for  the 
general  good.  When  they  learn  this,  they  will  be 
wiser  than  many  of  their  parents. 

In  the  course  of  such  teaching  instruction  will  be 
given  in  the  history  and  nature  of  our  political  in- 
stitutions. Such  teaching  is  made  especially  neces- 
sary by  the  presence  in  our  public  schools  of  great 
numbers  of  children  whose  parents  were  born  under 
very  different  political  conditions.  The  children  de- 
rive from  their  parents  the  attitude  and  opinions 
which  these  conditions  cause.  Often  the  elders  have 
left  their  homes  because  of  political  corruption,  in- 
justice, and  oppression,  and  though  they  may  have 
sought  these  shores  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  a  haven 


264  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

of  happiness,  they  cannot  quite  divest  themselves  of 
their  inherited  prejudices.  If  in  the  land  of  their 
birth  political  authority  meant  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion, and  the  courts  of  law  meant  only  extortion  from 
the  poor,  some  measure  of  that  feeling  will  continue, 
even  under  changed  conditions.  It  must  be  met  in 
the  school  by  teachers  who  understand  that  it  exists. 
The  teacher  is  dealing  directly,  indeed,  with  children, 
but  indirectly  with  full-grown  citizens  whose  preju- 
dices may  at  any  moment  give  rise  to  serious  vio- 
lence. The  instruction  which  enlightens  children  to 
the  nature  and  meaning  of  our  free  institutions,  and 
shows  them  how  they  intend  the  best  welfare  of  all 
citizens,  is  one  of  the  most  important  pieces  of  work 
which  anybody  can  do  in  this  country.  Under  such 
teaching  the  American  flag  takes  on  a  new  signifi- 
cance. 

The  fact  that  our  institutions  depend  upon  our- 
selves brings  the  public  school  into  vital  relations 
with  the  political  situation.  Indeed,  it  is  primarily 
for  this  purpose  that  the  school  exists  and  is  main- 
tained by  taxes  levied  on  the  citizens.  These  taxes 
are  collected  from  all  taxpayers,  whether  they  have 
children  or  not,  because  the  output  of  the  schools  is 
of  universal  interest.  All  social  order  depends  upon 
it.  Rightly  understood,  nothing  in  the  course  of 
study  in  the  public  school  is  so  important  as  that 
which  has  hardly  any  recognised  place  in  it,  the  sys- 
tematic teaching  of  morals.  For  that  which  con- 
cerns us  all,  and  makes  the  maintenance  of  schools 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  265 

worth  while,  is  not  merely  the  imparting  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  letters  or  figures,  but  the  impressing  of  such 
moral  ideas  as  shall  make  good  citizens.  The  best 
product  of  a  school  is  character. 

Thus  the  love  of  justice,  the  love  of  honesty ,  the 
love  of  liberty,  the  love  of  peace,  are  to  be  nourished 
in  the  lives  of  children.  A  series  of  ethical  or  of 
moral  and  religious  readers  is  one  attempt  to  assist 
the  school  in  fulfilling  its  supremely  important  func- 
tion, but  this  needs  to  be  supplemented  and  enforced 
in  the  whole  management  of  the  school.  A  most  im- 
portant factor  is  the  treatment  of  the  daily  problems 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  uphold  the  value  of  these  vir- 
tues and  to  illustrate  them  in  the  conduct  of  the 
school  affairs.  The  just  teacher,  who  makes  deci- 
sions not  in  haste,  nor  in  temper,  but  after  consulta- 
tion and  consideration,  with  no  purpose  but  to  be  fair, 
is  teaching  morality  most  effectively.  And  the  dis- 
tinction between  liberty  and  license,  the  wholesome 
advantages  of  peace,  and  the  essential  quality  of 
honest  dealing,  may  be  taught  from  texts  daily  sup- 
plied in  the  experiences  of  the  school.  The  heroism 
of  peace,  in  the  lives  of  firemen  and  policemen,  in 
the  face  of  accident,  are  illustrated  in  the  daily 
papers.  Courage  is  to  be  praised  as  a  moral  rather 
than  a  physical  bravery,  the  test  of  which  is  af- 
forded by  the  temptations  of  the  school  yard  and  of 
the  street.  As  for  respect  for  rulers,  it  begins  with 
respect  for  teachers,  a  respect  earned  by  fairness, 
earnestness,  competence,  and  sympathy. 


266  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

The  pupils  are  to  be  taught  that  the  highest  virtues 
are  social  and  aggressive.  To  live  one's  individual 
life  is  excellent  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  to  make  one's 
life  count  in  the  furtherance  of  all  that  is  good,  to  be 
not  only  right  but  a  champion  of  right,  to  be  not  only 
a  good  citizen  but  a  defender  and  maintainer  of  good 
citizenship,  this  is  the  goal  of  all  the  instruction 
which  bears  ultimately  on  the  political  life.  This  is 
the  meaning  of  the  virtues  of  political  interest  and 
political  honour.  All  the  emotions  of  love  of  coun- 
try are  to  be  focused  upon  the  endeavour  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  and  to  fight  against 
all  agencies  and  influences  which  degrade  its  life. 
The  immediate  aim  may  be  the  development  of  loy- 
alty to  the  school,  the  endeavour  to  enlist  all  children 
in  the  making  of  the  cleanest,  the  most  orderly,  the 
most  attractive,  the  most  efficient  school  in  the  com- 
munity. The  natural  zeal  which  is  manifested  in 
the  rivalries  of  intercollegiate  sports,  and  in  the 
games  between  rival  teams  at  baseball,  may  be  util- 
ised in  the  finer  competitions  for  the  attainment  of 
higher  standards  of  life.  Then  it  will  be  easy  for 
the  boys  and  girls,  grown  into  men  and  women,  to 
conduct  themselves  with  like  enthusiasm  in  the  great 
work  of  making  the  cleanest,  the  most  orderly,  the 
most  attractive,  the  most  efficient  city.  Out  of  such 
a  spirit  we  may  expect  the  emergence  of  better 
politics. 

The  following  graded  scheme  is  commended  to 
the  teacher : 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE 


267 


Q  1— 1 


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C3 
V 
N 

H3 
C 

(L)  4-> 

s    "  IS  § 

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hJ  Pl,  ^  kJ  U  P4  h-1  Cu  Oh 


CO       ^       U-iVO    t*«00    QtO    M 


268  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

The  following  stories  and  selections  bring  out  the 
virtues  of  the  political  life :  — 

"  Our  Country,"  "  Stories  about  Jefferson,"  "  A  Song  for 
Flag  Day,"  "  A  Brave  Girl,"  and  "  The  Story  of  the  Flag," 
from  The  Way  of  the  Green  Pastures. 

"  National  Hymn,"  "  How  One  Man  Loved  His  City," 
"  Lord  Cornwallis's  Knee  Buckles,"  "  David  and  Saul,"  and 
11  The  Leak  in  the  Dike,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Rivers. 

"  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  "  Elijah,  the  Prophet  of 
God,"  and  "  The  Story  of  the  Spies,"  from  The  Way  of  the 
Hills. 

"  Independence  Bell,"  "  The  Exploits  of  Douglas  and  of 
Randolph,"  "  Bruce  and  the  Spider,"  "  Union  and  Liberty," 
and  "  Lexington,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Mountains. 

"  A  Brave  Leader,"  "  Hymn  of  the  Vaudois  Mountain- 
eers," "  A  Letter,"  "  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,"  "  Joan 
of  Arc,"  "  The  Cavalier,"  "  The  Blue  and  the  Gray,"  "  God 
Save  the  Flag!"  and  "The  Death  of  King  Arthur,"  from 
The  Way  of  the  Stars. 

"  The  Hero  of  Khartum,"  "  The  Landing  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  in  New  England,"  "  Ode  for  Washington's  Birth- 
day," "George  Washington,"  "A  Patriot's  Words," 
"  Talleyrand  and  Arnold,"  "  The  Story  of  Patrick  Henry," 
"Dear  Land  of  All  My  Love,"  "Nathan  Hale,"  and 
"  Oliver  Cromwell,"  from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Gardens. 

"  America  Befriend,"  "  Patriot  and  Statesman,"  "  Wen- 
dell Phillips,"  "  The  Siege  of  Leyden,"  and  "  The  Snow 
King,"  from  The  Way  of  the  King's  Palace. 

"Prince  Hal  Goes  to  Prison,"  "My  Own  Land  For- 
ever," and  "  Three  Hundred  Heroes,"  from  The  Golden 
Ladder  Book. 

"  Arnold  Winkelried,"  "  The  Traitor  Girl,"  and  "  Sir 
Thomas  More,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  Paul    Revere's    Ride,"    "  Gathering    Song    of    Donald 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  269 

Dhu,"  "Joan  of  Arc,"  "The  Overland  Mail,"  "The 
Shahs  and  the  Demons,"  "  How  Sleep  the  Brave,"  "  The 
Flag  Goes  By,"  "  The  Centennial  Celebration  of  Concord 
Fight,"  "  The  Sword  of  Damocles,"  "  My  Native  Land," 
and  "  An  Old  Swiss  Story,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"  Griselda,"  "  Hannibal,"  "  The  King  and  the  Sea,"  "  The 
Blue  and  the  Gray,"  "  The  King  of  the  Monkeys,"  "  Song 
of  Marion's  Men,"  "  Zenobia  of  Palmyra,"  "Old  Iron- 
sides," "  The  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  "  Lexington,"  "  The  Keys  of 
Calais,"  "  Soldier,  Rest!  "  "  iEgeus  and  his  Queen,"  "  Sonnet 
on  Chillon,"  "The  Gray  Champion,"  "The  Man  Who 
Could  Not  Be  Bought,"  "The  Minstrel  Boy,"  "Of  the 
Queen's  Maying,  and  How  Sir  Lancelot  Rode  in  a  Cart," 
"  Of  Old  Sat  Freedom,"  "  Gettysburg  Address,"  "  Abraham 
Lincoln,"  "  The  Death  of  Nelson,"  "  The  Arsenal  at  Spring- 
field," and  "  Concord  Hymn,"  from  The  Golden  Key  Book. 

"  The  Law  of  Authority  and  Obedience,"  "  Horatius  at 
the  Bridge,"  "Liberty  or  Death,"  "The  Ballad  of  the 
Clampherdown,"  "  Roland,"  "  Hail  to  the  Chief,"  "  The 
Morning  of  the  Battle  of  Agincourt,"  "The  Battle  of 
Agincourt,"  "  Antony's  Speech  over  Caesar's  Body,"  "  Marco 
Bozzaris,"  "  Fight  between  the  Bonhomme  Richard  and 
Serapis"  and  "  The  Story  of  a  Roman  General,"  from  The 
Golden  Word  Book. 

"  Voluntaries,"  "  The  Man  without  a  Country,"  "  The 
Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade,"  "  The  Strenuous  Life,"  "  Joan 
of  Arc,"  "  Oration  of  Mark  Antony,"  "  Washington's  Fare- 
well Address,"  "  The  Ship  of  State,"  "  The  Bivouac  of  the 
Dead,"  "  Scots  Wha  Hae,"  "  The  Four  Wreaths,"  "  Say 
What  Is  Honor,"  "  The  Carronade,"  and  "  On  Laying  the 
Cornerstone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,"  from  The 
Golden  Deed  Book. 

Whittier's  "  Barbara  Frietchie,"  "  Off  to  the  War,"  and 
"  The  First  Fourth  of  July,"  from  Boys  and  Girls  of 
Seventy-seven,  by  Mary  P.  Wells  Smith,  "  He  Gave  His 


270  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Life  for  His  Country,"  and  "  I  Did  Not  Do  the  Job  for 
Money,"  from  Brave  Deeds,  Young  Folks  Library. 
"  Helena  of  Britain  "  and  "  Edith  of  Scotland,"  from  His- 
toric  Girls,  by  E.  S.  Brooks. 

11  The  Perfect  Tribute,"  by  Mary  Raymond  Shipman 
Andrews.  "  Warren's  Address,"  by  John  Pierpont,  in 
Poems  Every  Child  Should  Know.  "  What  Makes  a  Na- 
tion?" by  W.  D.  Nesbit.  "The  Princess  Wins,"  from 
Deeds  of  Daring  Done  by  Girls,  by  N.  Hudson  Moore. 
11  The  Passing  of  Arthur,"  from  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the 
King.  "The  Rise  of  Robert  the  Bruce,"  from  Scott's 
Tales  of  a  Grandfather.  "  Nisus  and  Scylla,"  from  Bul- 
finch's  Age  of  Chivalry. 

Tennyson's  "  Charge  of  the  Heavy  Brigade."  "  The 
Bixby  Letter,"  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  "  To  the  American 
Troops  before  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,"  by  George  Wash- 
ington, "  The  Fourth  of  July  "  and  "  On  Sudden  Political 
Conversions,"  by  Daniel  Webster,  and  "  The  Revolutionary 
Alarm,"  by  George  -Bancroft,  in  Prose  Every  Child  Should 
Know.  "  Israel  Putnam,"  from  Boys'  Heroes,  by  Edward 
Everett  Hale.  "  Henrietta  the  Siege  Baby,"  from  The 
Book  of  Princes  and  Princesses,  by  Mrs.  Lang.  "  Eulogy  on 
James  A.  Garfield,"  by  James  G.  Blaine.  "  Our  Colors," 
from  More  Five  Minute  Stories.  "  Edward  Randolph's 
Portrait,"  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.  "  Langton "  and 
"  Becket,"  from  Saints  and  Heroes,  by  George  Hodges. 
"The  Reveille,"  by  Bret  Harte.  "Nathan  Hale,"  from 
The  Book  of  Patriotism,  Young  Folks  Library.  "  A  Hero 
of  Valley  Forge,"  from  An  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds. 
"  Tubal  Cain,"  by  Charles  Mackay. 

"  The  Hare,"  from  Collection  of  Eastern  Stories  and 
Legends.  "  The  Commonwealth  of  Bees,"  from  Shake- 
speare's Henry  V.  "A  Comparison  of  Two  Events,"  by 
W.  M.  Thackeray,  in  Patriotism  in  Prose  and  Verse,  edited 
by  Jane  Gordon.     "  The  Might  of  the  Cowheaded  Club," 


THE  POLITICAL  LIFE  271 

from  Stories  of  Persian  Heroes,  by  E.  M.  Wilmot-Buxton. 
"  Life  without  Freedom,"  by  Thomas  Moore.  "  The  Dec- 
laration of  Independence."  "  The  Battle  of  Blenheim,"  by 
Robert  Southey.  "The  Troubadour's  Last  Song,"  from 
God's  Troubadour,  by  Sophie  Jewett.  "  For  Wallace  or 
King  Edward,"  from  Historic  Scenes  in  Fiction,  Young 
Folks  Library.  "  Character  of  Washington,"  from  Leaders 
of  Men,  Young  Folks'  Library, 


The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God; 
And  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork. 

—  Psalm  xix,    i. 

Stand  still,  and  consider  the  wondrous  works  of  God. 

—  Job  xxxvii,  14. 

Speak  to  the  earth,  and  it  shall  teach  thee. 

—  Job  xii,  8. 

And  let  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  upon  us; 
And  establish  thou  the  work  of  our  hands  upon  us; 
Yea,  the  work  of  our  hands  establish  thou   it. 

—  Psalm  xc,   17. 

How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles, 
O  Lord  of  hosts ! 

—  Psalm   lxxxiv,   1. 

Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright. 

—  Psalm  xxxvii,  37. 

Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as  your  heavenly  Father  is 
perfect. 

—  Matthew  v,  48. 

But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering, 
kindness,  goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness,  self-control; 
against   such  there   is   no   law. 

—  Galatians  v,  22,  23. 

Whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honor- 
able, whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are 
pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things 
are  of  good  report;  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there 
be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things. 

—  Philippians  iv,  8. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   ESTHETIC    LIFE 

No  book  on  Religious  Training  would  be  complete 
without  dealing  with  the  moralisation  and  spirituali- 
sation  of  the  aesthetic  nature  of  the  child.  Children 
are  by  nature  aesthetic  beings.  Constitutionally, 
they  function  aesthetically  just  as  really  as  they  do 
socially.  Very  early  in  their  history  they  manifest 
delight  in  beauty.  The  nature  of  these  reactions 
will  be  explained  as  we  proceed  with  the  chapter. 
Because  of  them,  education  calls  for  the  develop- 
ment of  this  aspect  of  the  child's  nature,  and  reli- 
gious culture  demands  its  moralisation.  Morality 
and  religion  are  especially  concerned  with  aesthetic 
development,  since  there  is  an  intimate  relation  ex- 
isting between  the  beautiful  and  the  good.  So  in- 
timately related  are  they  that  thinkers  like  Plato, 
Shaftesbury,  and  Schiller  really  identify  them. 
Whether  this  be  justifiable  or  not,  it  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  the  aesthetic  is  an  exceedingly  important 
factor  in  our  moral  life,  and  it  should  receive  proper 
recognition. 

The  Greeks  very  properly  emphasised  the  aesthetic 
in  education,  because  of  its  moral  effect  upon  the  in- 
dividual, and  through  the  individual  upon  the  state. 

273 


274  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

There  is  evidence  of  this  moral  effect  in  nearly  every 
soul  that  is  at  all  sensitive  to  beauty.  Compayre 
says: 

"Evil,  in  fact,  is  an  ugly  thing;  and  the  delicacy  of  a 
soul  sensitive  to  beauty  is  offended  at  it  and  spurns  it. 
And  if  we  make  a  minute  study  of  the  different  beauties 
which  art  and  nature  have  contrived  for  charming  and  en- 
nobling life,  the  moral  influence  of  the  beautiful  appears  still 
more  striking.  The  spectacles  of  nature  allay  the  passions 
and  envelop  us  in  their  purity  and  innocence.  The  plastic 
arts  at  the  very  least  reveal  and  communicate  to  us  the  grace 
and  elegance  of  the  bodily  movements.  Music,  the  most  im- 
pressive of  the  arts,  to  which  the  ancients  attributed  a  pre- 
ponderant part  in  education,  transmits  to  the  soul  a  certain 
contagion  of  order  and  harmony.  Finally,  poetry  exalts  and 
enchants  us  by  its  more  formal  inspirations ;  it  moves  us  with 
admiration  for  all  the  beautiful  deeds  which  it  celebrates, 
and  which  it  proposes  as  models  to  the  enthusiasm  that  it 
excites  within  us."  x 

An  explanation  of  the  moral  progress  of  the  race 
without  reckoning  with  the  aesthetic  as  an  exceed- 
ingly important  factor  in  the  cause  would  be  alto- 
gether inadequate. 

Religion,  also,  is  vitally  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  aesthetic  nature  of  the  child.  The  rela- 
tion between  the  aesthetic  and  the  religious  conscious- 
ness is  very  intimate.  All  the  fine  arts  are  utilised 
by  religion.  Indeed,  religion  is  exceedingly  depend- 
ent upon  them  as  a  means  of  expression.  Poetry, 
music,  painting,  architecture,  and  sculpture  have  been 

1  Compayre,  Lectures  on  Pedagogy,  trans.,  Boston,  1896,  pp.  250- 
251. 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  275 

the  active  servants  of  religion.  The  religious  con- 
sciousness in  its  efforts  to  manifest  itself  would  be 
almost  helpless  without  them.  Rob  religion  of  her 
"  psaltery  and  harp,"  her  "  timbrel  and  dance,"  her 
"  stringed  instruments  and  organs,"  her  hymns  and 
anthems,  her  ceremonies  and  rituals;  deprive  her  of 
her  magnificent  temples  and  cathedrals;  her  beautiful 
frescoes  and  paintings;  her  sculptured  forms  and 
emblems;  and  you  have  shorn  her  of  much  of  her 
strength.  But  not  only  does  the  aesthetic  furnish  a 
means  of  expression  for  the  religious,  but  it  often  in- 
spires religious  thought  and  feeling.  Milton  speaks 
of  "  the  dim  religious  light,"  and  with  many  it  super- 
induces the  religious  mood.  Thousands  will  testify 
to  the  inspiring  power  of  religious  music.  Again, 
the  beauty  of  a  sunset,  the  sublimity  of  the  starry 
heavens,  the  glory  of  a  mountain  view,  the  grandeur 
of  a  storm-tossed  ocean,  often  awaken  thoughts  of 
God  and  of  our  relation  to  Him.  They  call  forth 
religious  reverence  and  love.  It  was  the  sublimity 
of  the  heavens  that  awakened  the  religious  nature  of 
the  Psalmist,  inspiring  religious  awe  and  humility: 

"  When  I  consider  the  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers ; 
The  moon  and  the  stars  which  thou  hast  ordained; 
What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him? 
And  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him  ?  "  1 

The  conception  of  the  awful  sublimity  of  the  scene 
of  the  vale  of  Chamuuni  so  stirred  the  religious  na- 

1  Psalm  viii,  3-4. 


276  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

ture  of  Coleridge  as  to  call  forth  his  magnificent 
"  Hymn  Before  Sunrise  ": 

M  O  dread  and  silent  Mount!     I  gazed  upon  thee, 
Till  thou,  still  present  to  the  bodily  sense, 
Didst  vanish  from  my  thought:  entranced  in  prayer 
I  worshipped  the  Invisible  alone." 

There  is  no  need  of  multiplying  examples. 
Nearly  every  thoughtful  soul  has  sometime  or  other 
realised  the  power  of  the  aesthetic  in  awakening  re- 
ligious thought  and  feeling.  Indeed,  the  aesthetic  at 
times  is  an  antidote  for  religious  scepticism.  It  is 
said  of  David  Hume,  the  Scotch  sceptic,  that  he  was 
so  impressed  by  the  majesty  of  Nature,  viewed  from 
the  summit  of  a  mountain,  that  he  turned  to  his 
friend,  Adam  Smith,  saying,  "  Adam,  there  must  be 
a  God !  "  A  poem,  a  symphony,  a  painting,  or 
some  beautiful  or  sublime  scene  in  Nature,  will  often 
do  more  for  religious  belief  than  great  volumes  of 
Natural  Theology. 

Recognising,  then,  the  intimate  relations  existing 
between  the  aesthetic  and  the  moral  and  religious 
nature  of  man,  let  us  consider  the  methods  of  train- 
ing the  child  in  the  virtues  of  the  aesthetic  life. 
However,  before  dealing  with  more  formal  methods, 
it  might  be  well  to  call  attention  to  some  obvious 
facts  with  reference  to  the  potent  influence  of  the 
child's  home  and  school  environment  as  bearing  on 
his  aesthetic  culture.  There  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  concerning  the  refining  and  moralising  effect  of 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  277 

beauty  on  the  children  of  the  age  of  those  of  the 
upper  school  grades,  as  manifest  in  home  and  school 
architecture  and  landscape  gardening.  At  least  as 
early  as  the  tenth  year  they  are  susceptible  to  such 
influences.  In  many  instances,  however,  houses  and 
school  buildings  and  home  and  school  grounds  are 
conspicuous  examples  of  the  ugly,  and  the  effect  of 
ugliness  is  demoralising.  Conditions  are  improving 
in  this  respect,  but  they  are  far  from  what  they 
should  be.  Home  and  school  buildings  should  be 
examples  of  good  architecture.  Expense  cannot  be 
put  forward  here  as  a  legitimate  excuse  for  failure 
in  this  respect.  It  really  costs  no  more  to  build  a 
beautiful  house  or  school  building  than  to  build  an 
ugly  one.  Simplicity  is  a  fundamental  mark  of 
beauty,  and  simplicity  makes  for  economy.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  school  grounds.  As  a  rule,  the 
grounds  about  our  jails,  penitentiaries,  and  insane 
asylums  are  more  beautiful  and  attractive  than  our 
home  and  school  grounds,  as  if  criminals  and  lunatics 
deserved  more  consideration  at  our  hands  than  our 
children. 

The  interior  of  the  home  and  school  should  re- 
ceive proper  consideration  also.  The  decorations, 
be  they  ever  so  simple,  should  be  in  good  taste. 
Much  of  this  lies  in  the  power  of  the  parent  and 
teacher,  and  should  not  escape  their  serious  effort. 
Pictures  and  flowers  can  be  utilised  to  advantage. 
If  the  parent  or  teacher  does  not  feel  herself  a  com- 
petent judge  of  pictures,  it  is  often  possible  for  her 


278  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

to  avail  herself  of  the  judgment  of  persons  in  the 
community  who  are  capable  of  performing  this  office. 
By  all  means  let  the  home  and  schoolroom  minister 
to  the  aesthetic  nature  of  the  child.  It  costs  little, 
and  it  is  worth  much. 

If  we  pass  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  curriculum,  it  would  be 
well,  in  the  moral  education  of  children  to  en- 
courage, as  much  as  is  consistent  with  the  child's 
other  interests,  the  development  of  his  aesthetic  na- 
ture by  means  of  instruction  in  at  least  some  of  the 
fine  arts.  Music,  poetry,  colour  work,  and  drawing 
may  be  introduced  into  the  curriculum  in  the  early 
grades.  Investigations  along  this  line  have  been 
made,  and  they  indicate  that  the  child  is  prepared  at 
this  time  of  life  to  undertake  such  work.  With 
reference  to  music  and  poetry,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  feeling  for  rhythm  is  instinctive,  and  this  fur- 
nishes a  natural  basis  for  our  educational  effort  to 
develop  in  children  a  knowledge  and  love  of  these 
arts. 

Teachers,  however,  find  more  or  less  difficulty  in 
trying  to  interest  pupils  in  poetry.  Most  children 
love  to  sing,  but  children,  even  of  the  third,  fourth, 
and  fifth  grades,  often  express  a  dislike  for  poetry. 
May  this  not  be  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  fact 
that  we  overlook  the  necessity  of  simple  rhythm  in 
the  verse  to  which  we  introduce  them,  in  order  to 
acquaint  them  with  the  content  of  the  poem?  More 
simple  lyrical  poetry  in  our  schoolbooks  might  pro- 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  279 

duce  different  results.  Poetry  of  action  interests 
the  child  more  than  mere  descriptive  poetry,  and  if 
the  action  of  the  poem  be  presented  objectively,  it 
often  interests  the  child  intensely. 

Another  aesthetic  discipline  or  study  that  should 
be  introduced  into  the  curriculum  is  colour  work. 
Here  again  investigations  in  child  psychology  reveal 
the  fact  that  the  child  of  the  early  school  grades  is 
prepared  to  undertake  such  work.  Before  the  kin- 
dergarten period  the  child  has  learned  to  appreciate 
colour  contrasts  and  colour  values,  so  that  when  he 
arrives  at  the  age  of  the  children  of  the  grades,  he 
is  ready  to  undertake  colour  work  as  it  is  taught  in 
the  schools.  Such  work  awakens  aesthetic  delight, 
and  prepares  the  way  for  a  larger  and  finer  apprecia- 
tion of  the  beauty  of  nature  and  art.  This  apprecia- 
tion ministers  to  his  moral  nature  as  well. 

Drawing  also  should  be  taught,  not  merely  for 
utilitarian  reasons,  as  Locke  urged,  but  for  aesthetic 
and  moral  reasons  as  well.  The  child's  apprecia- 
tion of  form  develops  very  early,  even  though,  at 
first,  it  is  doubtless  influenced  by  association.  It  is 
mixed  with  other  feelings.  By  the  time  he  reaches 
the  first  grade  of  school  life  he  has  developed  some 
appreciation  of  outline,  symmetry,  and  proportion. 
Other  than  purely  aesthetic  factors  may  have  assisted 
in  this  development;  but  by  the  time  he  becomes  a 
candidate  for  the  grades,  he  is  ready  to  undertake 
drawing  as  a  means  of  aesthetic  culture. 

The  same  thing  may  be  said  with  reference  to  mod- 


28o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

elling.  In  both  of  these  exercises  it  is  easy  to  secure 
aesthetic  reactions.  And  this  is  said  with  a  full  ap- 
preciation of  the  difference  between  the  direct  aes- 
thetic reactions  to  real  objects  and  the  aesthetic 
appreciation  that  involves  an  understanding  of 
representation,  or  the  imaging  of  objects.  This 
kind  of  aesthetic  appreciation  is  later  in  its  develop- 
ment, depending,  as  it  does,  on  a  further  develop- 
ment of  the  child's  intelligence.  But  even  such  an 
appreciation  of  representation  as  art  involves,  as 
compared  with  an  immediate  presentation  of  real 
objects,  is  understood  by  the  child  very  early  in  life. 
As  Sully  says,  with  reference  to  pictorial  representa- 
tion :  "  Children  show  very  early  that  picture  sem- 
blances are  understood  in  the  sense  that  they  call 
forth  reactions  similar  to  those  called  forth  by  reali- 
ties." l  Tracy  and  Stimpfl  place  the  dawn  of  the 
idea  of  representation  in  the  child  as  early  as  the 
third  or  fourth  year.2  So  teachers  of  the  early 
grades  need  have  no  misgivings  as  to  whether  the 
child  is  mature  enough  to  undertake  such  work  as  a 
means  of  aesthetic  culture.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind, 
however,  that  the  child's  power,  as  a  rule,  up  to  the 
tenth  year,  is  limited  to  the  expression  of  space  in 
two  dimensions.  The  expression  of  the  third  dimen- 
sion is  a  later  development.3     It  ought  not  to  be 

1  Sully,  Studies  of  Childhood,  New  York,  1896,  p.  309. 

2  Tracy  and  Stimpfl,  The  Psychology  of  Childhood,  Boston,  1909, 
p.    167. 

3  Cf.  Tracy  and   Stimpfl,   The  Psychology  of  Childhood,  Boston, 
1909,  p.   174. 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  281 

overlooked  that  culture  along  these  lines  in  early 
years  prepares  for  a  refined  appreciation  of  art  later; 
and  this  appreciation  cannot  fail  to  prove,  not  merely 
a  source  of  aesthetic  delight,  but  also  a  means  of 
moral  and  spiritual  development,  because  of  the  inti- 
mate relation  between  the  beautiful  and  the  good. 

All  this  training  in  music,  poetry,  colour  work, 
drawing,  and  modelling  has  a  tendency  to  cultivate 
in  the  child  a  love  of  the  beautiful,  which  makes  for 
his  moral  and  spiritual  unfolding.  In  the  upper 
grades,  this  might  be  supplemented  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  an  art  reader  that  will  introduce  the  child,  in 
an  interesting,  concrete,  and  pictorial  manner,  to  the 
great  paintings,  architectural  structures,  statues,  etc., 
of  the  world.  Indeed,  pictures  of  some  of  these 
should  adorn  the  walls  of  the  schoolroom  and  halls. 
Stories  of  the  lives  of  the  artists  also  serve  to  de- 
velop an  interest  in  their  work.  Such  biographical 
sketches  have  a  moral  value  also,  for  many  of  these 
artists  were  heroes  in  the  sacrifices  which  they  made 
in  loyal  devotion  to  their  art. 

There  are  other  methods  by  which  the  teacher  can 
supplement  the  more  immediate  work  done  in  the 
class  for  the  development  of  the  child's  love  for  the 
beautiful  in  art.  Every  school  should  be  supplied 
with  a  stereopticon  and  slides  that  could  be  used  for 
the  purpose  of  appealing  to  and  educating  the  aes- 
thetic nature  of  the  child.  The  child,  as  well  as  the 
grown-up,  delights  in  pictures.  The  present  interest 
in  moving  pictures  demonstrates  this,  and  much  can 


282  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

be  done  for  the  higher  unfolding  of  the  child  if  an 
intelligent  advantage  be  taken  of  this  pictorial  "  in- 
stinct." Gradually  the  child  can  be  taught  to  appre- 
ciate classic  beauty  in  art  under  the  skilful  direction 
of  the  teacher.  The  paraphernalia  for  such  pur- 
poses are  now  so  available  at  a  comparatively  small 
expense  that  there  seems  to  be  no  reasonable 
excuse  for  a  school  not  to  have  it  as  part  of  its 
general  equipment.  It  can  hardly  be  questioned 
that  the  lantern  slides  and  canvas,  and  probably  the 
moving-picture  apparatus,  are  to  figure  conspicuously 
in  the  education  of  the  near  future,  and  they  ought  to 
be  used  for  purposes  of  aesthetic  and  moral  culture. 
Of  course,  this  applies  more  particularly  to  teaching 
in  the  middle  and  upper  elementary  grades,  as  it  is 
questionable  whether  children  of  the  lower  grades 
possess  the  power  to  appreciate  the  effects  of  a  pic- 
ture, structure,  or  landscape  as  a  total  or  whole,  as 
will  be  remarked  on  later. 

Occasional  excursions  to  art  galleries,  wherever 
this  is  possible,  constitute  another  method  which  may 
be  used  to  advantage  by  the  parent  and  teacher  in 
cultivating  the  child's  love  of  the  beautiful  in  art. 
In  most  of  our  larger  cities,  such  galleries  may  be 
found,  and  here  we  will  miss  a  good  opportunity  for 
developing  the  aesthetic  nature  if  we  fail  to  bring  the 
children  to  view  the  collections  of  paintings  and  stat- 
uary which  such  galleries  contain.  Again,  many  cities 
have  beautiful  public  buildings,  churches,  and  private 
residences,  and  it  is  well  to  call  attention  to  their 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  283 

beauty,  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  civic  pride,  but  as 
a  matter  of  aesthetic  culture.  Children  of  our  cities 
are  in  the  presence  of  such  buildings  almost  daily, 
and  in  a  subtle  but  sure  manner  do  they  minister  to 
the  aesthetic  nature  of  many  who  are  susceptible  to 
the  aesthetic  influences  of  environment.  The  more 
parents  and  teachers  are  persons  of  refined  and  de- 
veloped taste  in  this  respect,  the  more  will  they  ap- 
preciate the  value  of  the  ministry  of  such  structures 
to  the  aesthetic  life,  and  the  more  will  they  feel  it  a 
matter  of  moral  obligation  to  make  use  of  them  as 
an  educational  force  in  the  mental,  moral,  and  reli- 
gious life  of  the  child. 

But  beauty  is  not  confined  to  the  arts.  Nature  is 
clothed  with  beauty  as  with  a  garment,  and,  so  far  as 
possible,  we  should  introduce  the  child  to  this  beauty 
with  the  educational  aim  of  developing  in  him  both 
a  knowledge  of  Nature  and  a  love  of  the  beautiful. 
In  early  childhood  the  intellectual  interests  of  the 
child  are  largely  those  of  the  senses  and  imagination. 
The  thought  life  of  the  child  has  not  yet  developed 
to  any  considerable  extent.  But  the  senses  are  im- 
pressionable, active,  and,  indeed,  eager.  The  child 
lives  largely  in  an  objective  world.  The  world  of 
Nature  ;trongly  appeals  to  him.  There  is  much  to 
explore.  He  enjoys  the  sensations  that  natural  ob- 
jects awaken.  Sense-curiosity  is  alive  and  paves  the 
way  for  the  rational  curiosity  that  precedes  a  more 
advanced  knowledge  of  things.  Because  of  the 
sovereign  sway  of  the  senses  during  this  period,  the 


284  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

child's  education  must  have  reference  to  the  sense- 
world.  So  that  Nature  study  should  occupy  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  attention.  In  addition  to 
the  intellectual  advantages  of  such  study,  are  the  ad- 
vantages accruing  to  the  aesthetic  nature  of  the  child. 

The  child's  first  aesthetic  reactions  to  the  beauty  of 
Nature  occur  at  an  early  period  in  his  history.  At 
first,  of  course,  it  is  confined  to  single  objects,  and 
gradually  extends  to  a  number  of  objects,  which  are 
regarded  as  constituting  a  whole.  The  child's  aes- 
thetic delight  in  flowers  is  manifest  as  early,  at  least, 
as  the  fourth  year.  Usually  it  is  the  beauty  or  grace 
of  the  movement  of  individual  things  that  he  first 
appreciates.  This  tendency  to  deal  with  single  ob- 
jects as  moving  objects,  which  manifests  itself  in  his 
early  appreciation  of  beauty,  largely  accounts  for  his 
failure  to  appreciate  the  beauty  of  the  landscape. 
He  cannot  grasp  the  unity  in  the  variety.  He  does 
not  see  the  many  as  one.  This  power  develops  later. 
This,  indeed,  is  true,  also  with  reference  to  his  aes- 
thetic appreciation  of  paintings  and  beautiful  build- 
ings. Hence,  we  must  reckon  with  this  inability  of 
early  years,  and  await  a  maturer  development. 

City  homes  and  schools  suffer  a  disadvantage  com- 
pared with  homes  and  schools  in  the  country  in  this 
respect;  and  yet,  in  many  cities,  beautiful  parks  are 
maintained,  which  afford  the  teacher  an  excellent  op- 
portunity to  cultivate  in  the  pupil  a  love  of  beauty  in 
Nature.  Among  young  children  interest  is  domi- 
nantly  focused  on  individual  objects  of  beauty,  or 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  285 

small  patches  of  landscapes,  rather  than  on  the 
larger  aspects  of  Nature.  Hence,  in  dealing  with  the 
child's  aesthetic  nature,  the  teacher  will  act  accord- 
ingly. But,  later,  interest  in  these  larger  aspects  — 
the  field,  the  river,  the  forest,  the  sea,  the  mountains, 
the  landscape,  the  starry  heavens  —  arrests  his  at- 
tention, and  calls  forth  aesthetic  delight.  He  learns 
to  love  them  for  the  pleasure  which  they  afford,  and 
there  is  as  much  truth  as  poetry  in  Wordsworth's 
claim  that  Nature  is  a  moral  teacher.  Because  of 
the  subtle  relation  that  exists  between  the  beautiful 
and  the  good,  Nature,  through  her  beauty,  ministers 
to  the  child's  moral  being.  So  that  wise  parents 
and  teachers  will  take  advantage  of  this  fact  in  their 
efforts  to  moralise  the  life  of  the  child.  To  this 
end,  they  will  find  it  advisable  to  make  frequent  ex- 
cursions into  Nature  with  the  children.  Visits  to 
such  abodes  of  beauty  as  the  fields  and  meadows, 
the  seashore  and  mountains,  when  such  visits  are 
practicable,  or  into  the  gardens  and  parks  of  our 
cities,  will  appeal  to  the  child,  and  the  subtle  and 
often  potent  influences  of  such  contact  with  Nature 
will  have  a  refining  and  moralising  effect. 

Through  the  child's  love  for  the  beauty  of  Nature 
it  is  also  comparatively  easy  to  lead  his  thought  to 
the  Fatherhood  of  God.  It  is  his  Heavenly  Father 
who  has  clothed  the  lily  of  the  field,  the  meadows 
with  flowers,  the  hills  and  mountains  with  trees;  who 
has  filled  the  woods  with  songs  of  birds,  the  vales 
with  winding  streams,   and  the   skies  with  golden 


286  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

stars.  Such  knowledge  makes  for  the  development 
of  filial  gratitude  in  children  to  God  for  His  good- 
ness. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  we  referred  to  the 
aesthetic  as  manifesting  itself  very  early  in  the  child's 
life.  Of  course,  much  of  his  mental  reaction,  in  his 
earliest  years,  to  external  stimuli  in  the  form  of  beau- 
tiful objects  is  doubtless  chiefly  a  matter  of  the  sen- 
sory. But  gradually  he  reacts  to  beautiful  objects 
in  the  higher  forms  of  aesthetic  feeling.  Even 
though  we  were  compelled  to  fix  the  time  for  such  a 
reaction  as  late  as  the  tenth  year,  as  Professor  Tracy 
and  Dr.  Stimpfl  do,  there  would  still  be  sufficient  time 
for  the  parent  to  develop  the  really  aesthetic  feelings. 
During  the  later  years  of  childhood  and  during  the 
years  of  adolescence,  the  child  and  youth  are  "  able 
to  enter  fully  into  those  feelings  which  actuate  most 
adults  on  beholding  a  beautiful  landscape,  a  splendid 
painting,  or  a  magnificent  product  of  architectural 
skill."  The  earlier  aesthetic  training  prepares  the 
way  for  the  later  culture,  and  viewed  both  from  the 
aesthetic  and  the  moral  and  spiritual  standpoints,  is 
certainly  worth  while. 

Another  means  of  aesthetic  education  that  should 
be  encouraged  whenever  practicable  is  the  home  and 
school  garden.  The  hygienic  and  utilitarian  ad- 
vantages that  accrue  from  cultivating  such  gardens 
add  to  their  value.  But  the  aesthetic  and  moral  ben- 
efits derived  are  great,  and  make  their  cultivation 
worth  while.     In  England  Mrs.  Luther  has  gone 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  287 

so  far  as  to  establish  a  basis  for  a  general  scheme 
of  education  through  gardening  and  horticulture. 
This  is  doubtless  overestimating  the  possibilities 
of  such  training,  but  certainly  the  cultivation  of 
home  and  school  gardens  makes  for  utilitarian, 
hygienic,  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  moral  results. 
In  Europe  such  gardens  are  utilised  as  a  means  of 
education.1  In  America  they  have  been  introduced 
in  many  places,  and  their  value  has  been  demon- 
strated.2 Such  gardens  can  easily  be  established  in 
connection  with   homes   in   the   country.     Country 

1Georgens,  J.  D.:  Der  V  oiks  schul gar  ten  und  das  Volksschul- 
haus.     Berlin.    F.  Henschel,  1873,  pp.  6-190. 

Georgil,  Axel:  School  Gardens  in  Sweden.  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education.  Report  of  Commissioner,  1829-1900,  Vol.  2,  pp.  1447- 
1448. 

Karal,  John:  School  Gardens  in  Russia.  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation.    Report  of  Commissioner,  1897-1898,  Vol.  2,  pp.  1632-1639. 

Le  Bert,  Richard:  School  Gardens  in  Europe.  U.  S.  Dept.  of 
State.     Special  Consular  Reports,  Vol.  20,  Part  2,  pp.  159-221. 

Niessen,  Jos.:  Der  Schulgarten  im  Dienste  der  Erziehung  u.  des 
Unterrichtes.    Diisseldorf.     Schwann,  1896,  pp.  9-176. 

Rooper,  T.  G.:  The  School  Gardens  at  the  Boscombe  British 
School.  London,  British  Board  of  Education,  Special  Reports,  Vol. 
2,  pp.  224-231.  Reprinted  by  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education.  Report 
of  Commissioner,  1 897-1 898,  Vol.  I,  pp.  224-227. 

School  Gardens  in  Germany.  London,  British  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, Special  Reports,  1902,  Vol.  9,  357-404. 

Van  Dorn,  Charles:  School  Gardens  in  Europe.  U.  S.  Bureau 
of  Education.  Report  of  Commissioner,  1 897-1 898,  Vol.  I,  pp.  224- 
230. 

2  Cf.  First  Annual  Report  of  the  School  Garden  Association  of 
America,  1912.  See  also  M.  Louise  Greene,  Among  School  Gardens, 
Bibliography,  New  York,  1910,  pp.  343-375. 

Parsons,  H.  G.,  Children's  Gardens,  New  York,  1910. 


288  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

schools,  and  schools  in  villages  and  small  cities, 
should  also  establish  gardens.  The  moral  results 
alone  would  justify  the  effort  and  expense  involved, 
and  parents  should  co-operate  with  the  schools  in 
this  form  of  aesthetic  culture. 

But  beauty  is  not  confined  merely  to  art  and  Na- 
ture. It  is  also  manifest  in  conduct  and  character. 
Indeed  much  of  the  language  that  we  use  in  describ- 
ing conduct  and  character  is  composed  of  terms 
descriptive  of  aesthetic  qualities  and  relations.  We 
speak  of  fair  deeds  and  beautiful  acts,  also  of  foul 
deeds  and  repulsive  acts.  We  speak  of  fit  and  unfit 
conduct.  We  characterise  a  boy's  behaviour  as 
clean  or  unclean.  Such  terms  are  aesthetic  terms,  but 
we  apply  them  to  moral  qualities  and  relations  as 
well.  It  reveals  how  closely  related  are  the  beauti- 
ful and  the  good.  But  not  only  are  they  closely  re- 
lated,—  the  good  is  often  the  beautiful,  and  the  bad 
is  often  the  ugly.  There  is  an  actual  "  beauty  of 
holiness  "  and  a  positive  ugliness  of  vice.  And  these 
aesthetic  aspects  of  good  and  evil  prove  to  be  power- 
ful motives  in  influencing  us  to  choose  the  one  and  to 
reject  the  other.  So  true  is  this  that  often  our  re- 
sponse to  good  is  more  of  an  aesthetic  than  an 
ethical  one.  This  was  the  case  with  "  the  glorious 
devil "  in  Tennyson's  poem,  "  The  Palace  of  Art," 
who  was  so  decidedly  aesthetic  as  to  love  good  only 
for  its  beauty.  But  this  aesthetic  aspect  of  good- 
ness is  so  pronounced  that  it  has  much  to  do  in  win- 
ning us  over  to  righteousness.     The  beauty  of  a 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  289 

kindly  act;  the  loveliness  of  a  saintly  character  — 
these  inspire  us.  The  sublime  beauty  of  Jesus' 
character  and  life  appeals  to  us  powerfully. 
"  Many  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  through  the 
Gate  Beautiful,"  said  a  distinguished  writer,  and  it 
is  true.  Were  virtue  clad  in  homely  garb,  she  would 
not  have  such  a  large  nor  such  a  loyal  following. 
And  so  it  is  with  vice.  It  is  the  foulness,  the  down- 
right ugliness  of  vice,  that  proves  often  to  be  a  pow- 
erful repellent,  and  helps  us  in  the  hour  of  tempta- 
tion. ^Esthetic  disgust  helps  to  develop  a  really 
moral  disgust.  We  must  take  cognisance  of  the 
beauty  of  conduct  and  the  beauty  of  character,  as 
well  as  their  opposites,  in  our  attempts  to  develop 
the  moral  and  religious  nature  of  the  individual. 

Just  how  early  in  his  moral  and  spiritual  unfold- 
ing the  child  responds  to  the  beauty  of  goodness  and 
reacts  against  the  ugliness  of  evil  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
This  does  not  seem  to  have  attracted  the  serious  at- 
tention of  experimental  students  of  child  psychology. 
But  it  is  worth  their  earnest  consideration,  and  a  sys- 
tematic course  of  investigation  along  these  lines  would 
prove  fruitful  and  should  be  instituted.  Certainly 
children  in  the  upper  grades  of  our  elementary 
schools  are  susceptible  to  the  aesthetic  influence  of 
good  conduct  and  good  character,  and  it  will  be  well 
for  parents  and  teachers  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
advantages  of  this  fact  in  their  work.  It  is  an  in- 
teresting thing  to  note  that  the  beauty  in  which  chil- 
dren are  primarily  interested  in  the  early  years  is  the 


29o  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

beauty  of  movements,  and  that  most  of  their  at- 
tempts at  drawing  concern  human  beings  as  subjects. 
So,  with  this  early  interest  in  motion  or  action,  and 
with  this  great  interest  in  personality,  it  would  seem 
that  we  might  early  work  through  the  child's  aesthetic 
nature  in  behalf  of  moral  conduct  and  character. 
There  is  beauty  in  human  life,  and  its  highest  expres- 
sion is  to  be  found  in  the  good  conduct  and  good 
character  of  the  individual.  "  Why  then  should  we 
not  call  the  good  man  the  beautiful  man?  We 
should,  and  should  find  the  vicious  man  repulsive. 
How  ridiculous  to  exult  over  the  harmonies  of  our 
pictures,  our  clothing,  our  furniture,  to  praise  our 
jugs  and  tables  because  their  several  parts  accord, 
and  not  perceive  the  ugliness  of  our  own  characters, 
where  traits  do  not  go  together,  but  hang  apart  or 
clash.  We  really  ought  to  reckon  the  good  man  the 
most  beautiful  object  on  earth.  No  artist  accom- 
plishes a  result  so  subtle,  complex,  and  freshly  ad- 
justed as  he."  *  Here,  too,  stories  of  beautiful  lives, 
of  beautiful  deeds,  and  of  beautiful  characters  should 
be  used  as  an  effective  method  in  our  attempts  to 
moralise  the  life  of  the  child  from  this  point  of  view. 
Keeping  in  mind,  then,  what  has  been  said  on  the 
various  aspects  of  the  aesthetic  unfolding  of  children, 
the  following  graded  scheme  for  developing  a  love 
of  the  beautiful  may  be  adopted: 

1  Palmer,  The  Field  of  Ethics,  Boston,  1902,  p.  105. 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE 


291 


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292  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Virtues  pertaining  to  the  aesthetic  life  are  illus- 
trated in  the  following  stories  and  selections : 

"  A  Great  Painter  of  Animals,"  "  All  Things  Beautiful," 
and  "  The  Blue  Boy,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Rivers. 

"  June  Weather,"  "  The  Story  of  Murillo,"  and  "  The 
Story  of  Velasquez,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Hills. 

"  Apple  Blossoms,"  "  The  Boyhood  of  a  Great  Artist," 
"  A  Bit  of  Green,"  "  The  Greatest  Work  of  a  Great  Artist," 
and  "  The  World  Beautiful,"  from  The  Way  of  the  Moun- 
tains. 

"  The  Gladness  of  Nature,"  "  The  Starry  Heavens,"  "  Sir 
Galahad,"  and  "  Two  Great  Churches,"  from  The  Way  of 
the  Stars. 

"  Men  Who  Loved  Nature,"  "  A  Host  in  the  Sunshine," 
"  The  Story  of  a  Great  Artist,"  and  "  London,  1802,"  from 
The  Way  of  the  King's  Gardens. 

"  To  My  Sister,"  "  A  Prince  Among  Artists,"  "  Hymn 
Before  Sunrise  in  the  Vale  of  Chamouni,"  "  The  Story  of 
Haydn,"  and  "  Character  of  the  Happy  Warrior,"  from  The 
Way  of  the  King's  Palace. 

"The  Wonderful  World,"  from  The  Golden  Ladder 
Book. 

"  A  Boy's  Song,"  "  The  Barefoot  Boy,"  "  Robert  of  Lin- 
coln," "  March,"  "  How  the  Moon  Became  Beautiful,"  and 
"  The  Sea,"  from  The  Golden  Path  Book. 

"  Daffodils,"  from  The  Golden  Door  Book. 

"The  Pearl,"  "Who  Is  Silvia?"  "The  Butter  Lion," 
"  Night  Coach  to  London,"  and  "  Peter  Bell,"  from  The 
Golden  Key  Book. 

"  Thanatopsis,"  from  The  Golden  Word  Book. 

"Our  Mother  Tongue,"  "The  Fiftieth  Birthday  of 
Agassiz,"  "  Character,"  "  Each  and  All,"  "  Good-by,  Proud 
World,"  "A  Song,"  "Altars  of  Remembrance,"  "The 
World  Is  Too  Much  with  Us,"  "  The  Tulip  Garden,"  and 


THE  ESTHETIC  LIFE  293 

"  On  First  Looking  into  Chapman's  Homer,"  from  The 
Golden  Deed  Book. 

"  May,"  by  R.  M.  Alden.  "  The  Wind,"  by  Christina 
G.  Rossetti.  "  Pebbles,"  by  Frank  Dempster  Sherman. 
"  The  Voice  of  Spring,"  by  Mary  Howitt.  "  The  Succes- 
sion of  Four  Sweet  Months,"  by  Robert  Herrick.  "  The 
Shepherd  of  King  Admetus,"  by  James  Russell  Lowell. 

"  Lord  of  Himself,"  by  Henry  Wotton.  "  My  Heart 
Leaps  Up,"  by  William  Wordsworth.  "  Like  Crusoe  Walk- 
ing by  the  Lonely  Strand,"  by  T.  B.  Aldrich.  Fisherman  s 
Luck,  pp.  81-89,  and  "  White  Heather,"  from  Little  Rivers, 
by  Henry  van  Dyke. 


Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down, 
and  cast  into  the  fire.  Therefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them. 

—  Matthew  vii,  19,  20. 

And  why  call  ye  me,  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the  things  which 
I  say?  Every  one  that  cometh  unto  me,  and  heareth  my 
words,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  show  you  to  whom  he  is 
like:  he  is  like  a  man  building  a  house,  who  digged 
and  went  deep,  and  laid  a  foundation  upon  the  rock: 
and  when  a  flood  arose,  the  stream  brake  against  that 
house,  and  could  not  shake  it:  because  it  had  been  well 
builded.  But  he  that  heareth,  and  doeth  not,  is  like  a 
man  that  built  a  house  upon  the  earth  without  a  founda- 
tion ;  against  which  the  stream  brake,  and  straightway  it 
fell  in ;  and  the  ruin  of  that  house  was  great. 

—  Luke  vi,  46-49. 

If  ye  know  these  things,  blessed  are  ye  if  ye  do  them. 

—  John  xiii,  17. 

Ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  the  things  which  I  command  you. 

—  John  xv,  14. 

But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deluding 
your  own  selves. 

—  James  i,  22. 

For  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  commandments: 
and  his  commandments  are  not  grievous. 

—  /  John  v,  3. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

EXPRESSIONAL   ACTIVITIES 

Herbert  Spencer  was  once  asked  to  pass  judgment 
upon  some  examination  papers.  "  There  is  only  one 
general  criticism  which  I  feel  inclined  to  make  upon 
the  examination  papers  you  have  forwarded,"  he 
wrote,  "  a  criticism  to  which  I  think  they  are  open 
in  common  with  examination  papers  at  large.  They 
are  drawn  up  with  the  exclusive  view  of  testing 
acquisition  rather  than  power  I  hold  that  the  more 
important  thing  to  be  ascertained  by  an  examina- 
tion is  not  the  quantity  of  knowledge  which  a  man  has 
taken  in  and  is  able  to  pour  out  again,  but  the  ability 
he  shows  to  use  the  knowledge  he  has  acquired;  and 
I  think  that  examinations  of  all  kinds  are  habitually 
faulty,  in  as  much  as  they  use  the  first  test  rather  than 
the  last,  by  which  to  judge  of  superiority." 

The  criticism  was  both  just  and  fundamental,  and 
may  be  applied  to  our  entire  system  of  education, 
secular  as  well  as  religious.  Before  the  coming  of 
the  great  pioneers  in  educational  reformation,  the 
utter  failure  to  recognise  this  principle  helped  to 
make  the  school-life  of  the  boy  a  grievous  tyranny 
and  a  stupid  bore.     Nothing  but  his  power  to  store 

295 


296  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

the  mind  with  facts  was  recognised.  His  teachers 
quite  ignored  his  body  with  its  hands  and  feet,  its 
eager  muscles  and  tingling  nerves.  Everything 
within  him  cried  out  for  action;  but  all  action,  all 
freedom  of  motion,  was  denied  him.  He  was  sel- 
dom taught  to  use  the  knowledge  imparted  to  him, 
or  shown  its  joyous  and  practical  bearing  upon  life. 
For  the  most  part  he  was  robbed  of  his  five  senses 
and  of  his  right  of  self-expression.  The  result  was 
that  the  whole  boy  never  went  to  school.  A  portion 
of  the  time  he  memorised  his  lessons,  not  because  he 
wanted  to  but  because  the  rod  of  the  master  was  over 
him.  During  the  remainder  of  his  daily  imprison- 
ment, his  whole  attitude  was  that  of  a  fellow-sufferer 
in  a  school  for  backward  children,  of  whom  Patter- 
son DuBois  tells  us.  Some  one  asked  him  one  day 
what  he  came  to  school  for.  "  Just  to  set  here,"  he 
replied,  "  and  wait  for  school  to  leave  out."  From 
the  child's  point  of  view,  that  was  only  another  way 
of  making  Herbert  Spencer's  comment.  The  school 
had  failed  to  recognise  and  develop  the  very  essence 
of  his  existence.  He  was  born  to  a  life  that  meant 
ceaseless  activity,  the  fullest  and  freest  and  most 
joyous  self-expression.  His  teacher  seemed  bent  on 
transforming  him  into  a  dry  and  motionless  little 
walking  encyclopedia,  when  his  whole  nature  was 
surging  with  the  passionate  necessity  of  being  a  driv- 
ing dynamo,  whirring  with  energy  and  delighting  in 
the  purring  song  of  the  wheels. 

With  the  advent  of  the  movement  begun  by  Rous- 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        297 

seau,  Froebel  and  Pestalozzi,  there  came  a  change 
for  the  better.  These  men  saw  that  from  babyhood 
the  life  of  a  child  expressed  itself  in  constant  motion. 
The  spirit  within  demanded  exercise  and  free  play, 
not  only  for  its  amusement  but  for  its  education  and 
growth.  Froebel  at  once  put  into  practice  his  prin- 
ciple, "  Learn  by  doing."  He  saw  clearly  that  a 
boy's  organisation  is  motor  as  well  as  sensor,  and 
that  the  hand  in  a  very  real  sense  is  a  large  part 
of  the  brain.  Into  the  curriculum  of  the  school, 
therefore,  as  a  vital  part  in  the  pupil's  intellectual 
development,  he  introduced  all  sorts  of  occupations, 
games,  and  excursions.  He  sought  to  get  hold  of  the 
whole  boy,  to  impart  truth  not  through  the  eye  and 
ear  alone  but  through  every  faculty  and  power  of  the 
boy's  being.  He  knew  that  just  as  physical  growth 
depends  upon  physical  activity,  so  mental  and  moral 
and  spiritual  growth  depends  upon  mental  and  moral 
and  spiritual  activity.  Moreover,  the  physical  and 
the  spiritual  are  inextricably  bound  up  together.  Ac- 
tion not  only  affects  the  growth  of  the  brain  as  a 
bodily  organ,  fully  one-half  of  which  is  concerned 
with  the  contraction  of  muscles,  but  the  thought  life 
and  the  conscience.  If  he  could  educate  and  co- 
ordinate the  motor  activities  and  teach  the  boy  to 
control  them,  he  could  accomplish  infinitely  more 
than  by  the  mere  memorising  of  all  kinds  of  informa- 
tion. In  the  last  analysis,  he  would  be  training  a 
child  of  God  in  morals  and  religion,  and  fashioning 
the  character  of  the  man  that  was  to  be. 


298  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Out  of  such  revelations  and  convictions  have  grown 
all  the  games  and  social  activities  which  characterise 
our  modern  intellectual  training.  The  utilisation 
and  direction  of  the  play  instinct,  the  introduction  of 
gymnastics,  the  increasing  use  of  school  gardens,  the 
value  of  cooking  and  sewing  and  carpentering  and 
all  forms  of  manual  training  mark  the  recognition 
of  the  great  truth  that  expression  is  the  soul  of  edu- 
cation. Mere  receptivity  is  inert  and  may  be  selfish. 
It  is  action  that  leads  to  the  heights  of  life.  Work 
exercises  a  child's  strongest  and  best  instincts. 
Without  such  motor  training  certain  areas  of  the 
brain  never  develop.  The  outcome  is  the  mentality 
and  the  attitude  toward  life  seen  in  the  rich  idler 
and  the  tramp.  Such  activities  have  done  much  not 
only  to  check  truancy  but  to  develop  the  defective  and 
to  transform  the  criminal.  To  fail  to  utilise  them 
to  the  full  is  to  pay  the  penalties  of  all  those  who 
ignore  or  transgress  the  patent  and  unescapable  laws 
of  God. 

To-day  we  are  at  least  partially  awake  to  the  neces- 
sity of  applying  the  same  principle  to  the  moral  and 
religious  development  of  our  children.  Souls  grow 
by  exercise  as  well  as  brains  and  bodies.  We  are  no 
longer  content  to  tell  a  boy  at  home  and  in  the  Sun- 
day School  that  it  is  his  duty  to  be  kind.  We  send 
him  out  inspired  to  do  kind  deeds,  not  because  we 
command  him  but  because  it  is  the  honest  desire  and 
normal  expression  of  his  own  soul.  If  we  teach  him 
to  pray,  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  we  also 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        299 

teach  him  that  his  prayer  is  never  complete  until  he 
has  worked  to  answer  it.  We  have  learned  that  a 
truth-  merely  memorised,  properly  labelled  and 
pigeon-holed  in  the  mind,  is  for  the  boy  a  kind  of  in- 
tellectual mummy.  Unless  he  lives  it  out  in  practice, 
the  power  of  the  fact  will  probably  die  there  and  be 
buried.  So  far  as  his  daily  life  and  character  are 
concerned,  it  is  a  bit  of  mental  lumber,  a  useless  and 
not  especially  ornamental  piece  of  bric-a-brac;  and 
like  a  good  house-keeper,  he  will  either  discard  it, 
or  after  the  fashion  of  our  grandmothers,  tuck  it 
away  in  the  attic  as  something  too  good  to  throw 
away  but  of  no  possible  use  just  now.  His  morals 
must  be  worked  out  through  and  into  his  muscles. 
His  religion  must  become  not  only  reasonable  but 
real.  As  creative  self-activity  is  the  object  of  all 
secular  education,  so  creative  self-activity  in  full  ac- 
cord with  the  laws  of  a  good  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  man  is  the  object  of  all  moral  and  religious 
education.  The  boy  must  literally  "  work  out  his 
own  salvation,"  not  think  it  out  only.  His  holiness 
must  be  a  thing  of  the  hand  as  well  as  of  the  head 
and  the  heart. 

This  is  being  more  and  more  recognised  in  the 
curriculum  of  the  modern  Sunday  School.  The  old- 
fashioned  school  in  which  the  pupils  went  through 
"  opening  exercises,"  which  exercised  nothing  but 
their  tongues  and  their  lungs,  and  "  learned  their 
lessons,"  by  which  was  meant  that  they  could  prob- 
ably answer  the  simplest  of  kindergarten  questions 


3oo  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

and  repeat  the  golden  text,  is  being  roused  from  its 
lethargy  by  its  consciousness  of  failure.  Classes  of 
boys,  when  they  reach  the  adolescent  period,  disap- 
pear as  if  by  magic.  "  Where  are  our  young  men 
and  our  young  women  ?  "  is  the  cry  of  many  a  church. 
Just  where  they  have  always  been!  The  Sunday 
School  never  had  them  save  in  enforced  custody. 
The  church  never  wakened  and  developed  within 
them  "  the  life  that  is  life  indeed."  The  instruction 
given  had  not  caused  a  single  nerve  to  quiver,  a  single 
muscle  to  respond  joyously  and  effectively,  a  single 
religious  impulse  to  fashion  itself  into  a  habit,  by 
the  activity  of  a  unified  and  harmonised  body  and 
soul.  The  religious  forces  had  concentrated  their 
entire  attention  upon  the  boy  sensor  and  had  shame- 
lessly and  criminally  neglected  the  boy  motor.  This 
gave  them  no  hold  at  all  upon  some,  a  weak  hold 
upon  many  of  the  girls  and  a  few  of  the  boys,  and 
a  strong  hold  upon  nobody.  They  had  imparted  a 
certain  amount  of  information,  often  no  more  helpful 
than  any  other  kind  of  information;  but  they  had 
bungled  and  failed  miserably  in  the  work  of  religious 
nurture.  They  had  made  the  old  mistake  of  treating 
the  child  as  if  he  were  nothing  but  intellect,  with 
the  result  that  they  had  no  effect  whatever  upon 
what  the  child  regarded  as  the  larger  and  more  im- 
portant part  of  his  life. 

The  modern  school,  interested  in  the  moral  and 
religious  welfare  of  its  pupils,  has  seen  the  mistake 
and  is  doing  its  best  to  rectify  it.     None  have  per- 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        301 

fectly  solved  the  problem;  but  they  have  recognised 
it  and  are  working  at  it,  and  that  is  a  very  long  stage 
in  the  journey  toward  success.  Our  teachers  are 
dealing  not  only  with  lesson  papers  but  with  pictures, 
scrap-books,  sand  maps,  sketching,  modelling  and 
other  activities,  through  which  they  co-ordinate  their 
work  with  that  of  the  best  public  schools.  They  are 
attempting  to  teach  not  merely  by  saying  but  by  do- 
ing. To  their  minds  the  pupil  has  never  learned  the 
lesson  until  it  is  both  said  and  done.  They  are  try- 
ing to  develop  a  will  in  tune  with  the  will  of  God, 
and  wills  grow  less  by  verbal  instruction  than  by 
exercise.  They  know  that  a  boy's  conscience  is  al- 
ways concrete.  It  never  says  merely,  "  I  ought  to 
be  good,"  in  the  abstract,  but  "  I  ought  or  ought  not 
to  do  this  particular  deed."  The  teacher's  work  is 
not  completed  until  the  desire  of  the  enlightened  and 
empowered  conscience  has  been  realised  or  at  least 
attempted.  It  was  a  wise  Paul  who  advised  his 
young  helper  to  '  exercise  himself  unto  godliness.' 
However  much  or  little  Paul  knew  of  psychology,  it 
is  certain  that  our  boys  and  girls  will  attain  the 
heights  of  righteousness  and  of  religion  in  no  other 
way. 

The  means  to  be  employed  and  the  methods  to  be 
used  have  been  dealt  with  at  length  by  an  increasing 
number  of  educators.  Here  they  can  be  but  sug- 
gested or  outlined  in  brief.  The  first  thing  to  be 
utilised  is  the  child's  play.  So  far  as  his  games  go, 
they   are   more  potent   than   his   books.     In   them 


302  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

honour  and  truthfulness,  initiative  and  courage,  en- 
durance and  self-control,  co-ordination  and  co-opera- 
tion, self-reverence  and  self-sacrifice  are  lived  out 
with  an  abounding  joy  and  enthusiasm.  The  boy 
who  plays  morally  is  growing  morally.  The  boy 
who  cheats  and  whines  and  flies  into  a  passion  is  the 
father  of  the  embezzler  and  the  coward  and  the 
sensualist  that  is  to  be. 

Gymnastics  and  all  forms  of  physical  training  are 
also  helpful.  To  correct  a  boy's  posture  is  often  to 
correct  an  inner  state  of  consciousness.  If  his  body 
stoops  and  slouches,  it  is  probable  that  his  character 
does  also.  If  he  holds  himself  erect  and  looks  his 
fellows  squarely  in  the  eyes,  it  is  a  clear  indication  of 
something  more  than  self-respect.  The  relation  be- 
tween posture  and  health  is  also  a  close  and  vital 
one.  The  child  who  lounges  in  his  seat  until  he  sits 
on  his  spine,  or  bends  over  his  desk  until  his  chest 
and  his  knees  are  too  close  together,  pays  a  penalty 
not  alone  in  his  cramped  and  hampered  organs  but 
in  the  ultimate  effect  upon  his  soul.  To  build  up  a 
strong  body,  overflowing  with  vitality  and  health,  is 
one  of  the  best  guards  against  sex  perversion  and  in- 
temperance. Strong  bodies  and  strong  characters  do 
not  always  go  together.  Men  like  Parkman  and 
Darwin  and  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  are  sufficient 
evidence  to  the  contrary.  But  you  are  much  more 
likely  to  find  strong  characters  in  strong  bodies  than 
in  weak  ones.  "  Muscles,"  writes  President  G.  Stan- 
ley Hall'  "  are  in  a  most  intimate  and  peculiar  sense 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        303 

the  organs  of  the  will.  They  have  built  all  the 
roads,  cities  and  machines  in  the  world,  written  all 
the  books,  spoken  all  the  words,  and,  in  fact,  done 
everything  that  man  has  accomplished  with  matter. 
If  they  are  undeveloped  or  grow  relaxed  and  flabby, 
the  dreadful  chasm  between  good  intentions  and  their 
execution  is  liable  to  appear  and  widen.  Character 
might  be  in  a  sense  defined  as  a  plexus  of  motor 
habits.  .  .  .  Muscles  are  the  vehicles  of  habitua- 
tion, imitation,  obedience,  character,  and  even  of 
manners  and  customs.  For  the  young,  motor 
education  is  cardinal,  and  for  all,  education  is  in- 
complete without  a  motor  side."  1  Healthy  bodies 
are  at  once  fit  temples  and  powerful  aids  in  the  de- 
velopment of  healthy  souls. 

Manual  training  has  already  been  mentioned. 
This  has  been  introduced  not  merely  for  recreation 
or  for  vocational  preparation,  but  in  recognition  of 
the  truth  that  hand  and  brain,  mind  and  movement 
can  best  be  developed  together.  "  In  so  far  as  an 
individual  is  wanting  in  motor  development,"  writes 
Doctor  Bolton,  "  he  is  wanting  in  mental  develop- 
ment." The  wholesome  joy  of  creation,  the  appre- 
ciation of  beauty  in  form,  composition  and  colour, 
the  test  of  skill  and  invention,  are  matched  by  the 
healthful  moral  atmosphere  which  always  accom- 
panies such  activities.  Reference  has  been  made  to 
their  effect  upon  truancy.  Our  reform  schools  and 
penitentiaries  find  them  exceedingly  beneficial  in  all 

1  Hall,  Adolescence,  New  York,  1904,  Vol.  1,  pp.  131,  132. 


3o4  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

their  work.  They  strike  at  the  very  heart  of  the 
social  disease  which  manifests  itself  in  our  paupers 
and  vagrants  as  well  as  in  our  criminals.  They  en- 
list the  delinquents  and  enlighten  and  inspire  the  de- 
fectives. A  tool  chest  and  a  modest  assortment  of 
lumber  and  a  little  wise  direction  will  do  more  for 
many  a  boy's  moral  and  religious  development  than 
tons  of  expert  moral  advice  and  the  best  intentioned 
sermons.  The  tool  chest  enlists  the  whole  boy,  calls 
forth  all  his  powers,  and  raises  his  interest  to  the 
boiling  point.  The  advice  and  the  sermons  ring  his 
doorbell  and  try  to  attract  his  attention  through  the 
closed  windows.  But  they  are  not  the  most  welcome 
or  the  most  interesting  of  callers;  and  the  eye  and  the 
attitude  of  the  boy  are  likely  to  make  the  fact  ap- 
parent that,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  to  all 
practical  intents  and  purposes  he  is  "  not  at  home." 

The  life  of  the  home  is,  of  course,  the  best  of 
moral  and  religious  laboratories  and  gymnasiums. 
In  it  every  virtue  and  every  vice  may  be  exercised  and 
developed.  The  life  of  the  school  stands  next  in 
order  of  importance.  These  opportunities  have  been 
emphasised  and  developed  elsewhere.  It  is  sufficient 
to  mention  them  here. 

The  gregarious  instinct,  which  asserts  itself  in 
"  the  gang,"  may  be  utilised  helpfully.  Such  or- 
ganisations as  the  "  Boys'  Brigade,"  "  The  Knights 
of  King  Arthur,"  "  The  Boy  Scouts,"  "  The  Camp- 
fire  Girls,"  and  others,  have  been  widely  employed, 
as  well  as  all  the  various  clubs  and  societies  with 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        305 

which  church  and  school  life  abound.  In  these  high 
ideals  are  both  inculcated  and  practised.  Progress 
is  rewarded  and  delinquency  punished.  They  are 
attempts  to  form  good  habits,  to  incarnate  a  work- 
ing creed.  Self-respect,  self-mastery,  cleanness  of 
body  and  of  speech,  kindliness,  helpfulness,  tem- 
perance, and  similar  virtues  appear  in  the  vows  and 
daily  life  of  the  members.  The  manuals  of  such 
movements  should  be  studied  and  utilised.  To  the 
boy  and  girl  life  without  a  club  is  a  maimed  life.  A 
normal  and  healthful  craving  fails  to  find  its  satis- 
faction. Our  "  Merlins  "  and  "  Scoutmasters  "  and 
similar  officials  are  often  our  children's  most  effective 
moral  and  religious  leaders.  They  inspire  and  di- 
rect the  activities  in  which  young  lives  utter  them- 
selves, and  so  mould  the  men  and  women  that  are  to 
be. 

Usually  the  parent  and  teacher  are  less  perplexed 
to  find  expressional  activities  for  the  moral  life  of  the 
child  than  for  the  distinctly  religious,  though  any  dif- 
ferentiation here  is  formal  rather  than  vital.  In  es- 
sence the  two  are  aspects  of  a  single  whole.  Care 
must  be  taken,  first  of  all,  to  see  that  the  child  does 
not  identify  religious  activity  with  saying  his  prayers 
and  going  to  church  and  learning  his  Sunday  School 
lesson.  Outward  forms  and  customs  alone  are  likely 
to  develop  a  formalism  that  is  first  cousin  to  hypo- 
crisy and  paganism.  To  the  child  they  are 
practically  synonymous  with  do-nothing-ism,  and  do- 
nothing-ism  leads  to  religious  atrophy  and  spiritual 


3o6  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

death.  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?  "  is  the  un- 
conscious question  that  looks  out  of  the  eyes  of  youth 
into  the  faces  of  those  who  should  be  wise  in  the 
school  of  experience.  Happy,  interested,  whole- 
souled  activity  is  a  prime  requisite ;  and  yet  few  are 
the  children  who  find  it.  What  wonder  if  to  grow 
up  is  synonymous  in  many  instances  with  growing 
out  of  the  church? 

The  work  may  well  begin  with  the  development 
of  a  religious  attitude  toward  Nature.  Too  often 
there  is  no  connection  made  in  the  child's  mind  be- 
tween a  law  of  nature  and  a  law  of  God.  The  par- 
ents and  teachers  themselves  in  their  interpretations 
of  the  world  are  to  all  intents  and  purposes  pagans. 
They  fret  and  fume  when  their  petty  plans  are  upset 
by  the  weather,  as  if  the  inevitable  laws,  which  bring 
about  showers  and  sunshine,  were  simply  the  annoy- 
ing ways  of  an  irrational  and  Godless  universe, 
rather  than  the  wise  provisions  of  a  good  God. 
It  is  unwise  and  usually  unnecessary  to  discuss 
with  a  child  the  problem  of  physical  evil.  In  the 
presence  of  earthquakes  and  pestilence  it  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  teach  him  to  reverence  and  obey  law,  to 
meet  danger  with  courage  and  hardship  with  trust 
and  patience.  Those  who  have  suffered  he  can  sym- 
pathise with  and  help.  But  in  his  daily  life  he 
should  be  made  to  read  the  book  of  Nature  as  a  part 
of  the  world's  Bible.  In  star  and  sun,  in  sunshine 
and  tempest,  in  tree  and  flower,  he  should  be  helped 
to  see  the  creative,  sustaining  and  ordering  activity 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        307 

of  his  Father  in  heaven,  who  worketh  until  now.  In 
the  wheat  fields  as  at  the  table  he  needs  to  be  re- 
minded that 

Back  of  the  loaf  is  the  snowy  flour, 

And  back  of  the  flour  is  the  mill  ; 
And  back  of  the  mill  is  the  wheat,  and  the  shower, 

And  the  sun,  and  the  Father's  will. 

The  disciplinary  and  educational  values  of  some 
troubles  may  be  made  clear  to  him  in  simple  lan- 
guage. In  some,  not  in  all,  if  the  parent  is  wise 
enough  to  avoid  the  fallacious  philosophy  of  Job's 
friends  and  the  pharisaical  commentators  on  the  fall 
of  the  tower  of  Siloam,  may  be  indicated  the  natural 
and  inevitable  punishment  visited  upon  careless  or 
wilful  law-breakers  by  a  wise  and  loving  God.  But 
in  all  ways  Nature  must  be  made  to  seem  something 
more  than  Goethe's  "  garment  of  Deity."  It  can  be 
nothing  less  than  the  veiled  and  yet  visible  Presence, 
the  tangible  and  indubitable  manifestations  of  the 
unseen  "  Power  not  ourselves  which  makes  for  right- 
eousness." The  child's  sense  of  wonder  and  of  mys- 
tery, which  lies  back  of  all  religion,  must  be  de- 
veloped and  fostered,  and  his  conception  of  God 
built  up  and  illustrated  by  his  daily  contacts  with  the 
world.  Wonder  and  worship  are  very  closely  re- 
lated; and  out  of  this  normal  childlike,  attitude  of 
mystery  coupled  with  Schleiermacher's  sense  of  abso- 
lute dependence  will  grow  the  deeper  adoration  and 
awe  of  his  mature  years. 


3o8  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

His  gratitude,  together  with  his  faith,  hope  and 
love,  will  first  express  themselves  in  his  human  re- 
lationships. Gradually  they  may  be  elevated  and  in- 
terpreted until  they  touch  the  divine.  The  thanks 
to  the  parent  for  food  and  clothes  and  shelter  will 
soon  appear  insufficient  as  the  child  is  led  to  realise 
that  the  father  and  mother  are  less  the  givers  than 
the  intermediaries,  faithful  or  unfaithful  stewards  of 
bounties  loaned  them,  and  of  trusts  and  responsibili- 
ties laid  upon  them  by  the  great  Giver  of  every  good 
and  perfect  gift.  That  thanks  may  be  expressed  by 
the  child's  becoming  a  conscious  and  faithful  steward 
of  the  blessings,  which  he  may  share  with  his  more 
needy  fellows,  and  so  live  out  his  active  praise  and 
gratitude  to  God. 

His  faith  in  his  father  is  far  more  than  a  system 
of  beliefs  about  his  father's  nature,  character  and 
occupation.  It  is  the  affirmative  response  of  the 
child's  whole  being,  the  outgo  of  his  nature  in  warm 
trust  and  passionate  devotion  and  glad  obedience; 
and  these  in  turn  may  be  transferred  to  the  Unseen 
Father  in  whose  eyes  father  and  son  are  both  chil- 
dren and  to  whom  faith  in  its  fulness  is  due. 

His  hopes  for  himself  and  his  fellows  and  the  ulti- 
mate victory  of  the  good,  the  true,  and  the  beautiful 
must  never  be  allowed  to  languish.  Petulant  fault- 
finding, discouragement,  cynicism  and  pessimism 
must  be  kept  far  from  him;  and  this  can  be  done  only 
by  grounding  his  hopefulness  not  upon  outward  ap- 
pearances, or  temporary  defeats  and  victories,  but 


EXPRESSIONAL  ACTIVITIES        309 

upon  the  wise  and  all-powerful  activity  of  an  ever- 
present  God. 

As  for  his  love,  the  ways  in  which  this  may  be  ex- 
pressed are  legion.  Glad  service  rendered  to  the  in- 
firm and  aged  in  his  own  family;  the  bunch  of  flowers 
and  dish  of  dainties  carried  to  the  home  of  a  sick 
friend;  the  toil  and  self-sacrifice,  not  the  mere  spend- 
ing of  money  donated  by  his  parents,  through  which 
he  can  help  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  poor;  the 
broadening  of  his  sympathies  and  the  loving  labour 
by  which  he  may  reach  out,  breaking  down  the  dis- 
tinctions of  race  and  colour,  and  help  boys  and  girls 
in  foreign  lands  to  get  an  education  and  to  grow  up 
into  a  Christian  manhood  and  womanhood;  —  in 
these  and  countless  other  ways,  his  human  affection, 
which  is  apt  to  stick  fast  in  his  throat  or  become 
cant  when  he  tries  to  speak  it,  may  be  made  to  take 
full  possession  of  his  life  and  express  itself  with 
transforming  power. 

In  brief,  the  child's  religion  must  be  real  enough 
to  be  lived,  to  move  him,  to  permeate  every  part  of 
his  being.  As  Professor  Dawson  puts  it,  our  boys 
and  girls  must  be  inspired  and  taught  to  "  eat  re- 
ligiously, clothe  themselves  religiously,  found  homes 
religiously,  establish  business  and  professional  rela- 
tionships religiously,  and  conduct  all  the  enterprises 
of  individual  and  social  life  from  a  religious  point  of 
view."  x  For  the  child  as  for  the  man  Life  is  the 
greatest  and  truest  expression  of  creed,  prayer,  and 

1  Dawson,  The  Child  and  His  Religion,  Chicago,  1909,  p.  106. 


3io  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

worship.  The  thing  we  "  believe  "  is  so  "  beloved," 
according  to  the  derivation  of  the  word,  that  we  "  be- 
live  "  it.  The  most  searching  instruction  in  prayer 
ever  given  was  the  injunction  to  "  pray  without  ceas- 
ing." Worship  as  a  thing  of  lips  and  genuflections 
and  ecclesiastical  millinery  soon  becomes  an  empty 
chrysalis.  The  only  liturgy  which  lasts  is  that  which 
rises  in  the  fragrant  incense  of  our  laughter  and  our 
labour,  and  reaches  the  Father  who  seeth  in  secret, 
and  prizes  no  service  save  that  which  is  rendered  in 
spirit  and  in  truth. 

The  author  of  the  "  Theologia  Germanica,"  per- 
haps the  choicest  of  the  mystical  writers  of  the  four- 
teenth century,  once  said:  "  I  would  fain  be  to  the 
eternal  God  what  a  man's  hand  is  to  a  man."  In 
that  saying  he  uttered  the  unconscious  prayer  of  the 
religion  of  childhood.  To  the  boy  there  is  no  inner 
life  worth  talking  about  which  does  not  express  it- 
self outwardly.  His  relation  to  God  is  not  marked 
by  pious  thrills.  His  desires  and  ideals  are  not 
fully  attained  in  the  saint's  beatific  vision.  What- 
ever he  believes  about  God  and  man,  he  longs  to  ex- 
press vigorously.  His  creed  can  never  be  contained 
in  any  number  of  formal  theological  articles.  It  will 
be  content  with  nothing  less  than  Jeremy  Taylor's 
vigorous  concept  which  he  phrased  as  "  the  practice 
of  God."  The  greatest  need  in  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious nurture  of  the  coming  generation  is  for  the 
wise  use  of  a  large  variety  of  expressional  activities. 
We  need  to  ponder  daily  the  familiar  warning  of 


EXPRESSION AL  ACTIVITIES        311 

William  James  concerning  unincarnated  thoughts  and 
unused  emotions.  Many  of  our  boys  and  girls  are 
poor  even  in  these,  so  far  as  religion  is  concerned. 
The  only  chance  for  them  to  keep  what  they  have, 
to  say  nothing  of  any  joyous,  positive  growth  in 
Christian  character,  is  not  merely  to  learn  their  Sun- 
day School  lessons,  or  to  go  to  church,  or  to  memorise 
the  catechism,  but  to  do  the  things  which  they  have 
good  and  sufficient  reason  to  believe  their  Lord  com- 
mands them. 


With  all  thy  getting  get  understanding. 

—  Proverbs  iv,  7. 

The  heart  of  him  that  hath  understanding  seeketh  knowledge. 

—  Proverbs  xv,  14. 

Employ  your  time  in  improving  yourselves  by  other  men's 
documents;  so  shall  you  come  easily  by  what  others  have 
laboured  hard  for. 

—  Socrates. 

The  true  university  of  these  days  is  a  collection  of  books. 

—  Thomas  Carlyle. 

We  prize  books,  and  they  prize  them  most  who  are  them- 
selves wise. 

—  R.  W.  Emerson. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  following  books  and  articles  are  recommended 
to  parent  and  teacher.  Those  preferred  are  indi- 
cated by  an  asterisk  (*). 

Parenthood 

Aldrich,  M.  A.,  Eugenics.     Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New  York, 

1914. 
*Baker,  LaR.  H.,  Race  Improvement,  or  Eugenics.     Dodd, 

Mead  &  Co.,  New  York,  19 12. 
Bateson,  W.,  Mendel's  Principles  of  Heredity.     University 

Press,  Cambridge,  1909. 
Bruce,   H.  A.,  Psychology  and  Parenthood.     Dodd,   Mead 

&  Co.,  New  York,  191 5. 
Comstock,  S.,  Mothercraft.     Hearst's  International  Library, 

New  York,  19 15. 
*Conn,  H.  W.,  Social  Heredity  and  Social  Evolution.     The 

Abingdon  Press,  New  York,  19 14. 
*Davenport,    C.    B.,    Heredity    in    Relation    to    Eugenics. 

Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  New  York,  191 1. 
*Dawson,  G.  E.,  The  Right  of  the  Child  to  be  Well  Born. 

Funk  &  Wagnalls  Co.,  New  York,  1912. 
*Dugdale,  R.  L.,  The  Jukes.     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New 

York,  19 10. 
Foerster,   F.   W.,   Marriage  and   the  Sex  Problem,   trans. 

by  M.  Booth.     F.  A.  Stokes  Co.,  New  York,  1912. 
313 


3i4  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Forbush,  W.  B.,  The  Coming  Generation.  D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  New  York,  19 12. 

*Galton,  F.,  Hereditary  Genius.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New- 
York,  1870. 

— ^Inquiries  into  Human  Faculty,  and  its  Development. 
E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co.,  New  York,  1908. 

*Goddard,  H.  H.,  The  Kallikak  Family.  The  Macmillan 
Co.,  New  York,  1913. 

Guyau,  J.  M.,  Education  and  Heredity.  The  Walter  Scott 
Publishing  Co.,  London,  1909. 

*Herbert,  S.,  The  First  Principles  of  Heredity.  A.  &  C. 
Black,  London,  1910. 

*Kellicott,  Wm.  E.,  The  Social  Direction  of  Human 
Evolution.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York, 
1911. 

Lovejoy,  S.,  Self-Training  for  Motherhood.  American  Uni- 
tarian Association,  Boston,   1914. 

*McKim,  W.  D.,  Heredity  and  Human  Progress.  G.  P. 
Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  1900. 

Patten,  S.  N.,  Heredity  and  Social  Progress.  The  Mac- 
millan Co.,  New  York,  1903. 

Punnett,  R.  C,  Mendelism.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New 
York,  191 1. 

*Read,  M.  L.,  The  Mothercraft  Manual.  Little,  Brown 
&  Co.,  Boston,  1 91 6. 

*Reid,  G.  A.  O'B.,  The  Laws  of  Heredity.  Methuen  & 
Co.,  Ltd.,  London,  19 10. 

*Saleeby,  C.  W.,  The  Progress  of  Eugenics.  Funk  &  Wag- 
nails  Co.,  New  York,  19 14. 

— ^Parenthood  and  Race  Culture.  Moffat,  Yard  &  Co., 
New  York,  1909. 

—*Health,  Strength  and  Happiness,  Chs.  XXIII-XXV. 
Mitchell  Kennerley,  New  York  and  London, 
1908. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  315 

♦Thomson,  J.  A.,  Heredity.     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New 

York,  1908. 
Woods,   F.  A.,  Mental  and  Moral  Heredity  in  Royalty. 

Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  New  York,  1906. 
*Hutchinson,  W.,  We  and  Our  Children.     Doubleday,  Page 

&  Co.,  Garden  City,  New  York,  191 1. 
Watson,  J.  A.  S.,  Heredity.    T.  C.  &  E.  C.  Jack,  London, 

1912. 

The  Bodily  Life  of  the  Child 

Anderson,  W.  G.,  A  Manual  of  Physical  Training.  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Chicago  and  Bos- 
ton, 19 1 4. 

Bulkley,  M.  E.,  The  Feeding  of  School  Children.  G.  Bell 
&  Sons,  London,  1914. 

Burnham,  W.  H.,  Outlines  of  School  Hygiene.  Pedagogical 
Seminary,  Vol.  I,  1892. 

Coleman,  W.  M.,  Physiology  for  Beginners.  The  Macmil- 
lan  Co.,  New  York,  1907. 

— Lessons  in  Hygienic  Physiology.  The  Macmillan  Co., 
New  York,  191 2. 

—People's    Health.     The    Macmillan    Co.,    New    York, 

1913. 
— Elements    of   Physiology   for   Schools.     The    Macmillan 

Co.,  New  York,  1903. 
— A    Health   Primer,     The   Macmillan   Co.,    New   York, 

1904. 
*Conn,    H.    W.,    Introductory    Physiology    and   Hygiene. 

Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.,  Boston,  1904. 
— ^Elementary   Physiology   and  Hygiene.     Silver,    Burdett 

&  Co.,  Boston,  1903. 
Cornell,  W.  S.,  The  Health  and  Medical  Inspection  of  School 

Children.     F.  A.  Davis  Co.,  Philadelphia,  1912. 
Currier,  C.  G.,  Outlines  of  Practical  Hygiene.     E.  B.  Treat 

&  Co.,  New  York,  1905. 


3i6  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING 

Davison,  A.,  The  Human  Body  and  Health.  American 
Book  Co.,  New  York,  1910. 

Dresslar,  F.  B.,  School  Hygiene.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New 
York,  1 914. 

*Drummond,  W.  B.,  An  Introduction  to  Child-Study. 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York,  19 12. 

*Fisher,  I.,  and  Fisk,  E.  L.,  How  to  Live.  Funk  &  Wag- 
nails  Co.,  New  York,  19 15. 

Forsyth,  David,  Children  in  Health  and  Disease.  J.  Mur- 
ray, London,  1909. 

Guthrie,  L.  G.,  Functional  Nervous  Disorders  in  Childhood. 
H.  Frowde,  London,  1907. 

Halleck,  R.  P.,  Education  of  the  Central  Nervous  System. 
The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,   1901. 

*Holt,  L.  E.,  The  Care  and  Feeding  of  Children.  D.  Ap- 
pleton  &  Co.,  New  York,  1903. 

Jewett,  F.  G.,  The  Body  and  Its  Defenses.  Ginn  &  Co., 
Boston,  1 9 10. 

Mclsaac,  I.,  The  Elements  of  Hygiene  for  Schools.  The 
Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1909. 

Mendel,  L.  B.,  Childhood  and  Growth.  F.  A.  Stokes  Co., 
New  York,  1906. 

Millard,  C.  N.,  The  Building  and  Care  of  the  Body.  The 
Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  19 10. 

— Wonderful  House  that  Jack  Has.  The  Macmillan  Co., 
New  York,  1908. 

*Morse,  J.  L.,  The  Care  and  Feeding  of  Children.  Harvard 
University  Press,  Cambridge,  19 14. 

Mosher,  M.  B.,  Child  Culture  in  the  Home.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York,  1898. 

Oppenheim,  N.,  The  Development  of  the  Child.  The  Mac- 
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American  Social  Hygiene  Association.  105  West  40th  St., 
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INDEX 


Achilles,  106. 
Adler,  115,  116  n. 
Aristotle,  90. 
Athanasius,  158. 

Babcock,  114. 

Bacon,  116. 

Bibliographies  (Stories),  68-69, 
112-113.  127-129,  149-151, 
167-169,  203-204,  221-225, 
236-237,  252-253,  268-271, 
292-293. 

Bibliography   (General),  313  f. 

Bolton,  303. 

Boone,  155. 

Bowne,  34,  130. 

Burk,  232  n. 

Burne-Jones,  164. 

Bushnell,  6,  166. 

Butler,  24. 

Carlyle,  312. 
Coe,  29  n. 
Coleridge,  19,  276. 
Compayre,  178,  274. 
Conn,  189  n. 
Crafts,  28  n,  29  n. 

Darwin,  302. 
Dawson,  309. 
DeGarmo,  30. 
Dewey,  23. 
Drake,  95. 
Drummond,  232  n. 
DuBois,  296. 


Dumont,  42. 

Ebara,  3. 

Emerson,  123,  312. 
Expressional  Activities,  295  f. 

Fisher,  134,  138. 
Fiske,  48. 
Foerster,  106. 
Froebel,  297. 

Gary  Plan,  29. 
George,  83  n. 
Gibbon,  213. 
Goethe,  307. 
Groos,  86. 
Gulick,  80. 

Habit-formation,  42  f. 

Hale,  226. 

Hall,    4,    50,    89  n,    99  n,    136  n, 

177  n,  178,  220,  302. 
Hill,  81. 

Holmes,  A.,  88  n. 
Holmes,  O.,  15. 
Homer,  70. 
Hume,  276. 
Hunt,  164. 


Ingersoll,  157. 

James,  43,  311. 
Joubert,  60. 

Kant,  87. 
339 


340 


INDEX 


King,  21. 
Kirschner,  26. 

Ladd,  6. 

Leuba,  52. 

Lincoln,  163. 

Livingstone,  155. 

Locke,  112,  179,  188,  279. 

Luther,    162. 

Luther,  Mrs.,  286. 

MacCunn,  44,  61  n,  89  n,  148. 

Martineau,  24. 

Mcintosh,  94. 

Metchnikoff,  94. 

Michelangelo,  163. 

Millet,  164. 

Milton,  275. 

Montessori,  33,  83,  134,  138,  233. 

Moody,  166. 

Newton,  162. 
Nietzsche,  107. 

Okuma,  3. 
Orton,  23. 

Paine,  157. 
Palmer,  290  n. 
Parkman,  302. 
Paulsen,  90,  238. 
Peabody,  144,  217. 
Pestalozzi,  297. 
Pieters,  25. 
Plato,  89,  211,  273. 
Pratt,  53. 

Raphael,  164. 

Rauschenbusch,  38. 

Religious    Training — Aim    and 

Method,  35  f,  57  f. 
Religious  Training — Importance 

of,  if,  15  f. 


Richter,  188. 

Roark,  23. 

Rousseau,  33. 

Royce,  143. 

Rubens,  164. 

Ruskin,  162,  164,  215,  226. 

Sala,  83. 

Saleeby,  70,  79  n. 
Schiller,  273. 
Schliermacher,  307. 
Shaftesbury,  273. 
Shaw,  1. 
Sidney,  70. 
Smith,  276. 
Spencer,  295,  296. 
Socrates,  312. 
Stern,  178. 
Stevenson,  302. 
Stimpfl,  280,  286. 
St.  John,  64. 
Story-method,  57  f. 
Sully,  136  n.,  178,  280. 

Taylor,  310. 
Tennyson,  288. 
Thilly,  90  n.    , 
Thorndike,  46  n. 
Titian,  164. 
Toynbee,  215. 
Tracy,  280,  286. 

Ulysses,  106. 

Virtues  and  Vices  of, 

The  Bodily  Life,  71  f,  93  f. 

The  Intellectual  Life,  iisf. 

The  Social  Life  (The  Fam- 
ily), 131  f.,  153  f. 

The  Social  Life  (The  School), 
171  f,  189  f. 

The  Social  Life  (The  Com- 
munity), 207  f. 


INDEX  341 

The  Social   Life    (Relation  to       Watts,  I.,  162. 

Animals),  227  f.  Webster,  153. 

The  Economic  Life,  239  f.  Weigle,  45  n,  46  n. 

The  Political  Life,  255  f.  .Wesley,  20,  162. 

The  Aesthetic  Life,  273  f.  Whittier,  188. 

Wordsworth,  4,  285. 
Watts,  G.  F.,  164. 


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